Reflection
by x silhouette dreams x
Summary: Sophia is the awful farmer on Sunshine Islands. When invited to go on a cruise, she calls her twin sister Chelsea to not only take care of the farm, but to portray as Sophia for the next year! After realizing the awful job Sophia has done, Chelsea decides to revamp her sister's look. With a new farm, new friends, and a budding romance, will anyone ever realize her secret?
1. Chapter 1

"Chelsea? Chelsea, it's me, Sophia."

I could recognize my sister's voice anywhere. I mean, it sounded like mine, for starters. Plus, her name came up on the caller ID. If it weren't her on the phone, I wouldn't know whom else.

"Hey Soph. Is… everything okay?" she sounded a lot more desperate than usual. She didn't _always_ call, and when she did, it was usually for money. Not too sure why when she has her own farm and she's supposed to make a profit every day. It never fazed me much, she didn't ask for money too often. Today was different though; there was a shrill tone to her voice that sent a chill down my spine. It made me really worry.

"I need you."

I sighed. "If it's more money, then—"

"It's not money. I need you, here. Just pack a bag with all your things…err, most your things. A lot of your things! Just please, come to Sunshine Islands."

"Right now?"

"Yes, right now!"

"Why is this so sudden?"

I heard her sigh loudly. It sounded partially forced, but I also knew she was getting aggravated with me. I rested the phone between my cheek and my shoulder, as I began to clear my dinner plate in the sink and wash the dishes. She continued, her loud voice directly in my ear.

"Because it's a sudden matter, Chelsea!" she sighed softer now. "Please. As a sister, I'm begging you. I'll never bother you for money again… but I really need you to do this for me. Please?"

I turned off the faucet, and stood still in place, looking down before me. She was extremely desperate. I've never seen—nor heard—Sophia so anxious for a favor. It must've been serious, then. I placed down the dishes, and I heard her deep breathing on the other end. I kicked up and sat on the counter, leaning on my legs.

"How long's the boat ride?"

"Oh, yay!" her voice perked up immediately. "It's only a few hours. The next ride is at eleven and it pulls in at three in the morning. That gives you plenty of time to pack and make it to the dock, right?"

Oh, boy. What have I gotten myself into? "Yeah, that should be enough time."

"Great! I'll see you soon, love ya!" and she immediately hung up.

I placed the phone back down on the receiver, and sighed loudly. I ran my fingers through my chestnut hair, and trudged up the steps. I peeked my head into my parents' room, and there was my mother, rummaging through her closet for her night outfit. She was meeting some of her friends downtown and she always had to make an entrance—and with her body, I didn't blame her. My sister and I got our sapphire eyes from her, and our hair from our dad. Sophia and I were identical twins, and while she was being a so-called farmer, I was still living at home at twenty-one. My mom saw my peeping head, and her face glowed and her lips stretched into a smile.

"Hey Chelse," she said, facing me. "What do you think, the black or the blue?"

She held up the two dresses in front of her, a beaming smile across her cheeks as she asked my advice.

"The black. You can never go wrong with black."

"You're right," she said, stuffing the blue dress back into her closet. She then turned back to me. "Close the door there, honey, I need to get dressed."

"Mom, uh," I tapped on the doorframe, and then fully swung myself into her bedroom. "I actually need to go."

"Go? Sweets, the bathroom is across the hall." She began to snicker. She always told corny jokes and she was the only one who would laugh. My mother was precious.

"Moooom," I whined, laughing. I then dropped the smile. "No, uh, Sophia called. Just now."

She perked up, her beautiful smile fading. "Sophia?"

"She asked me to meet her in Sunshine Islands tonight."

"Tonight?" she approached me. "As in right now?"

I nodded. My mother held my shoulders and sighed.

"For how long?"

I shrugged. Sophia never gave much information. We were complete opposites, and while our looks may not show it, all you had to do was talk to us. We had completely different friends growing up. I personally couldn't stand Sophia in high school; she treated me as if I were her inferior. It was revolting that I even called her my sister, and there was no way I could hide it either. We looked exactly the same. Any beauty marks that I had that she didn't, or vice versa, weren't seen. Our faces, our arms, our legs, our everything: identical. Without a serious change, you couldn't tell us apart.

"Okay, darling," my mom hugged me. "Please call! I have no idea what your sister could possibly be up to. It's never a good thing, though."

We both laughed.

"It couldn't be so bad," I smiled. "I know it's _Sophia, _but I mean, what would she possibly make me do?"

* * *

Three hours left.

This boat ride couldn't go any longer. I've already been on for an hour and I couldn't be any more bored. There was nowhere I could sleep but the lounge, and I didn't want to be like that. There were homeless people who were sleeping all over the couches and floors because that is all they can afford. I couldn't take that away just because I wanted to rest my eyes for a bit. I decided to wander the top deck a bit and try and disregard everything happening below me.

As I climbed the stairs to the top, I saw the clear sky. No one else was up here, due to the fact that it was creeping past midnight. But as I looked up into the stars, I found myself easily mesmerized.

Back home it was difficult to get lost in the stars. Living in the city, there was smoke everywhere from all of the awful pollution from factories and just the every day smokers. It was nearly impossible to enjoy such a simple night such as this one. The moon wasn't completely full; it was a beautiful crescent moon, smiling down at me. The stars blinked over me, and as I stared at each one individually, it was as if it were changing into different colors, a little light show just for me. I wished I could enjoy more nights like this. If the city weren't so muggy and polluted, I'd lay a blanket on top of my apartment building and just stare at the stars by myself for hours. No one would know, it'd just be me and the stars, and the smiling moon.

"Sophia?"

I heard the name but I didn't turn. I was too hypnotized by the sky.

"Sophia!"

The voice was deep and rough. Was it talking to me? I finally turned my head, and there was a face that I had never seen. He had hair as dark as the night around us, and a contrasting white coat. He was either a doctor or a scientist… but he was surely attractive. He smiled and came to stand next to me on the ledge. He smelt like cologne and cough medicine. Definitely doctor.

"Hey Sophia," he said in a husky voice, "what're you doing here?"

I then figured out that he must go to the islands, and, of course, he thought I was my sister. I laughed, and shook my head, as well as crossed my hands.

"No no," I kept a smile on my face. "I'm not Sophia. I'm her sister."

"Sister?" he stared at me, and then smiled. "You're not playing a trick on me, are you…?"

I laughed and shook my head again. "No, I swear. Sophia's at the islands, she just called me and asked me to meet her." I then stuck my hand out to the attractive doctor. "Chelsea."

He smiled genuinely for the first time, his teeth nearly as white as his coat. He shook my hand gently and said, "Dr. Trent."

"So, I'm just going to take a wild guess here… but I'm assuming you know my sister because you're the doctor on Sunshine Islands?"

"You guessed correctly!" he smiled. "I'm actually the doctor for quite a few places. I don't reside on any of them, though. I live elsewhere and come when they call."

"Isn't that difficult though?"

He shrugged. "It works."

I stared at him. Sophia didn't call the both of us because it was a medical emergency, was it? She wasn't expecting me to stay with her just in case? "Did Sophia call you to the islands? Is that why you're here?"

He shook his head. "No, miss. I'm going to a different place: Forget-Me-Not-Valley. You may have heard of it."

My eyes widened, and I shook my head slowly. "Doctor, I honestly have never even heard of Sunshine Islands until my sister took over that farm. I have no idea where the valley is."

He laughed louder at my bewildered expression. "Ahh, that's alright."

He then turned his head up at me, and stared at me. While I love being looked at by attractive doctors, I couldn't lie and say that I wasn't a little freaked out. He had a small grin on his face and I cocked my head at the stranger. I then couldn't help but cough up a smile.

"What?"

"You and your sister look _identical_." He said in a soft voice. "It'd be silly of me to not guess by now that you two are twins."

I nodded, looking back out at the sea. "That would be correct."

"It's just so strange," he said, just as soft. "You two are completely different. You're… so… and she isn't…"

"You can say it," I laughed. "I know my sister very well, if you insult her, you're not really insulting me."

He smiled. "You're so down to earth… and she's not."

I stared at him seriously, shrugging my shoulders. "How she became a farmer confuses me."

"Doesn't it confuse us all?" he laughed. "She's everything wrong about Sunshine Islands. It is such a wonderful place to live… everyone is so sweet and generous. Your sister just doesn't fit in."

I turned to him. I looked up at the stars and the moon again. They all just intertwined. The stars created imaginary patterns that have lead people to research and admire them for years. And the moon was the center of it all, as if the stars looked up to its bright center presence.

"What're the islands like?" I asked him. I then turned to face him again. "I've never actually been there."

He then stared out into the ocean. It was weird conversing with someone who I didn't know. But he seemed really genuine and I liked that. Was everyone on the islands like him?

"It's beautiful. There are a lot of little islands but there's about three that are the main parts of the islands, which are your sister's ranch, Verdure Island, and Ranch Island. Everyone is really sweet in a different way. You would just have to get to know everyone." He checked his watch. "It's getting late. You should get to sleep, as should I."

I took his wrist and checked the time. Well, I probably wasn't going to get much sleep once I got to the islands, anyways. It'd be best to crash somewhere.

"Do you have a room to sleep in?" he wondered.

I shook my head. "Nah, but that's okay! I'll make do with the lounge area."

"You sure?"

"I don't want to impose on a stranger. Really, it's okay."

He took that as an opportunity, and nodded me goodbye. I waved to him as he made his way down the wooden steps. He was nice and sincere. He gave a good impression for Sunshine Islands, even though he didn't actually live there. Plus, he was a doctor. There's never anything wrong with that.

I made my way back down the stairs and went into the lounge area. There were people all over the floors and couches in the lounge. I looked at them all, their innocent, sleeping faces. They looked so comfortable yet so unhappy. I squeezed in between two people, and made my way into an awkward sleep.

"Sunshine Islands docking in a few minutes. If you are departing to Sunshine Islands, please make your way to the disembarking ramp now."

I groggily rose from my spot, watching all of the people sleeping around me still in a deep slumber. The man to my left curled my arm to his cheek, and I slowly slipped it out. I found my way to my feet. Already? I felt like I had just passed out. And now the loud voice overhead was telling me I had to disembark. I was probably the only one scheduled the get off for Sunshine Islands too.

I stood at the ramp and waited for the door to let me out. There was a tired old man standing there guarding it, when a younger man came over and handed me my luggage. As I knew, I was the only one leaving.

"Final call for Sunshine Islands."

_Just let me off the damn boat, _I grumbled in my thoughts. If anyone knew me well, waking me up when I was still tired was never a good thing for me.

Finally, the door slowly opened, and before me I saw a wooden dock in the midst of the night. I made my way off, gripping my bags tightly in both palms, and, there she was, right in front of me, my twin sister. Sophia.

"Chelseaaaa!" she leapt into my arms, my bags nearly flying over the sides. "It's so amazing to see you again!"

"Hi, Sophia," I said, trying to find the ground again. She finally took her arms from around my neck, and she had the widest smile across her cheeks. "How are you so awake right now?"

She disregarded my question. "Okay, so this is why I asked you to come here."

I looked at her, waiting for her to continue.

"Okay, so you know my friend Tina, right?"

I snickered, grinning devilishly. I raised my eyebrows and mumbled, "I think everyone in the _city_ knows Tina."

She slapped my arms. "Anyways! She asked me to go with her on her dad's boat across the _world_! Isn't that exciting?"

"What?" I wondered. "For how long?"

"The entire year!" she clasped her arms together. That was when I looked past her. All of her matched luggage was there: all packed and ready to leave.

I glared at her. "Sophia, what is going on?!"

"I need you to be me for the year. You know, do the farming stuff, and talk with the people here. Do whatever. But Taro said that if I ignored my farm again then he'd kick me off the island! So while I'm away, I need you to take care of it for me and pretend to be me."

My eyes widened. What has gotten to her? I clenched my fists so tight that my nails were piercing my palms. "_What?!_ Sophia, you've got to be _kidding_ me!"

She placed a hand on her hip, smiling a weak smile. "You see, I knew you'd say no. Just like that, actually. That's why… I didn't give you the _opportunity _to say no."

"I'm not doing this, Soph."

She sighed, looking down at her toes. She contemplated in her mind for a few seconds, before she said, "Look, I really want to live here. Like really bad. And I feel bad. But I really need you to do this for me. Please. A sister asking another sister, I just really really need you here this year. I'll make it up to you one day… some day! I promise! Just please."

I looked into her eyes. Her identical sapphire orbs blinked largely at me. She really wanted me here. She wasn't trying to play some dumb trick on me. Of course, she already did, tricking me to come here without actually knowing what was going on. Maybe I owed her a few favors from high school. And I mean, what was I going to do back home? I had no one I could really hang out with. I was going to spend the entire year home, probably looking for minimum wage jobs at the age of twenty-one since I couldn't move out of the house yet. At least here I'll be on my own.

I sighed loudly. "Fine," I groaned.

She smiled, leaping into me once again. I had to brace myself for a second time as I lost my stance. "Oh, thank you thank you thank _you_!" she cried into my ear. "I promise I'll repay you in some way. Name it and it's yours! Do you want something from a country that I'm going to? I'll figure it out! Thank you, Chelsea!"

As she rambled on and on about how thankful she was, she was picking up her matched luggage and was strolling past me. She made it onto the boat that hadn't departed yet. She stood on the ramp, and waved to me, and I waved back half-heartedly.

She smiled softly. "I love you, Chelsea."

I couldn't help but break open a smile as well. "I love you too, Sophia."

"I'll see you next summer, darling!" she waved, and disappeared into the boat.

The boat then slowly backed from the dock, and made its way into the infinite sea.

I stood on the dock at three in the morning, wondering what I had just agreed myself into. And more importantly… where even was my house?


	2. Chapter 2

I woke up the next morning in a bed that already felt uncomfortable to me. The sheets felt tight and suffocating, the house felt stuffy and dolled up. This entire room was the opposite of how I wanted things to be. (By the way, yes, I found the house. I figured when I saw the giant farm finally, but it took a bit of wandering to do.) I crashed easily into bed before I actually could inspect the room, and now with the light peering in through the windows, I could see everything. It reflected Sophia in the weirdest way.

I slid out of bed, and looked on the dresser next to my bed. There was a notebook, and on the cover, there was a post-it that said **_CHELSEA, OPEN ME_** in large, block letters. Puzzled, I opened in. On the first page, there was a small little letter in Sophia's perfect script handwriting. It said:

_Chelsea,_

_Thank you so much for doing this for me! You're truly the most amazing sister anyone could ask for. Now, there are obviously some important things you need to figure out before you leave this house and spend the year as me. _

_1. You need to learn all of the names of the locals. It's all inside here! So once you finish reading this list… you should do that._

_2. Your farm work. Now, I'm a shitty farmer myself but it's pretty easy to pick up on, I'd say. Or not. Um…_

_3. How to act like me. You've known me for all my life, so… that shouldn't be too hard, right? _

_Well, that's the important stuff. If you ever need any help just call me on my cell phone at the bottom of this page. I love you soooooo much Chels! I swear, if you make it through the year I'll do anything you want me to and never ask you of anything again. I couldn't ask you any more how much I am so thankful that you're doing this for me. All of my usual clothes are in the closet and there's a toolbox by the door with all of the farming stuff. Have fun being me!_

_Love, _

_Sophia xoxo_

I slowly turned the page, and the first thing I noticed was a loose sheet of paper, folded twice. I opened it up, and there was a poorly drawn map of the islands. It didn't seem too hard to navigate, but it also seemed pretty difficult to actually figure out as if I actually lived here.

Just by looking at the map, I discovered that I owned the entire island to myself. Ranch Island, as I remember Dr. Trent mentioning to me vaguely at some point in the late night. I then saw Verdure Island and Sprout Island labeled. The three islands were the largest out of all the surrounding. She left a note that she rarely went to the surrounding islands, except Meadow Island. Noted at the bottom of that note she said how there's a shrine for the Harvest Goddess "or something".

_What did this all mean?_ I fumbled through the pages again, getting a bit stressed.

Each page was a picture of a resident on the islands and a little description. Some had little stars next to their names to indicate they're someone that worked in a store so she would know how to confront them.

_*Mirabelle: Owner of the animal shop. Buy all animal feeds and animal supplies (and animals) here. Nice._

_Julia: Daughter of Mirabelle. Our age. Dressed kinda slutty, but still somehow nice._

_Vaughn: Lives with Mirabelle. Cowboy. Comes every Monday and Tuesday because of a job in the city. Weirdo. _

I stared at all of the faces and names before my eyes exploded out of my head. They all looked like genuinely nice people. Some faces freaked me out more than others, some I wondered how they were related to each other. I then looked at each face and tried to place a voice with each personality. Mirabelle seemed like she had a sweet, southern motherly voice to her. Gannon looked as if he had a deep, rugged voice to him. It was almost like a little game, trying to match imaginary voices with pictures of strangers. Strangers that were probably walking around right outside my door. I

_How did I ever think this was possible? _I groaned, pulling my hair angrily. _I couldn't have possibly thought that I could live here and fool this entire town that I was my sister. _

Except that I'm here now. And I have to figure out a way to make it work. I don't know how and I don't know where to begin, but I guess I should start with my farming. At least that way I could start my profit. I walked across the room and opened the toolbox to find almost new looking tools all scattered around and on top of each other. I recognized how to do this, somewhat. My uncle was a farmer and he showed us all of the tools when we used to visit him out in the country. So I knew I needed a hoe, a watering can, and a sickle if necessary.

And once I stepped outside, _boy_ was it necessary.

Her farm was completely dead. There were weeds sticking up everywhere, and the soil looked completely dry and infertile. Was farming even going to be possible in this field? I sighed heavily, slowly blinking. It was really starting to dig in that this was going to be extremely difficult. Every aspect of it: the farming part, the social part, and just the living part. How was I going to make my way into a foreign world and pretend to be someone that I wasn't?

I decided to get started on the weeds. I crouched down in front of each one and sliced them with the sickle. I broke any tree stump with the axe that I had to retrieve from inside. And I hacked and sliced away, clearing an entire field of every blemish it had. And just by that, I was exhausted.

"Working hard or hardly working?"

I looked up to see a face that, of course, was only familiar in my book. But it looked so much different seeing him here before me, now. He had blonde shaggy hair and a hat to cover up the bang in front of his green eyes. He wore overalls and looked like a farmer himself. And he knew all about farming, except he didn't own a farm. At least, that's what Sophia's little note said. It also said that he was one of the people that helped her get to a start… before she nearly gave up on the job in a whole. She also noted that he visited the farm often, so learn his name _immediately._ And that was how I knew it was Mark.

"Mark!" I said, smiling.

He cocked his head at me, a smirk appearing across his cheeks. "A smile while working? That's not very like you."

I nervously shrugged my shoulders. "Uh… well…"

He laughed loudly. "I'm only teasing you, Soph. But really, I haven't seen you work this hard in seasons. What's up with you?"

I shrugged again, and sat on the soil. "A late New Years' resolution? I decided I'd try the farming thing out again."

Mark nodded, looking at the field around me. He kept nodding, smiling wider than he was several seconds ago. He placed his hands on his hips and said, "Well, you cleared it pretty well. Luckily you've still got two more days until summer actually starts, so you don't have to do any real farming just yet."

"Yeah, phew!" _These plants run exactly by season? _

Mark stared at me. He cocked his head in the other direction, his green orbs staring directly into my sapphire ones. It was scaring me. There was no way he could've been figuring me out already. I'm not that bad at being my sister, am I?

"You look tired," he said slowly. "Like… the bags under your eyes look like you just went on a shopping spree in the city."

I stared at him. _What kind of reference was that. _"Mark, you're literally ridiculous."

He laughed. "Okay, but you look really tired. Rough sleep?"

I smiled, and nodded. I stood up from my place and got a better look at him. He was cute. I wasn't going to try and hit on him of course, he seemed too far into Sophia's friend zone to do that. I already liked him though. He set a good tone for a first day as Sophia.

"Yeah, I had some trouble getting some sleep." I pretended to look at my watch. "Oh I have to get running!" I ran up to Mark and gave him a hug.

_Wow, I hated being my sister. _

"I'll see you around!" I said, as I quickly ran back inside my house.

I closed the door, sighing. Was that a good impression of Sophia? Before running to go feed my animals, I decided to take Sophia's notebook, and placed it in the rucksack I picked up to start. I then stepped back outside cautiously, in hopes that Mark wasn't there. Not that I didn't _like_ him. I just didn't want to confront him. At all. Not right now while I was still trying to figure out everything else.

I looked out the doorway and it looked as if he had made his way back to Verdure Island. I sighed, a gentle smile spreading my cheeks, and made my way to the back to go to the barn and the chicken coop. I went to the barn, first. And the first thing was that it reeked. I smelt a mixture of hay and poop and it took me a few seconds before I could truly walk through the barn door. And when I did, I had to be honest. It was a little disappointing.

She had one horse, one cow, and one sheep. They all looked miserable and underfed. And dirty as an animal could possibly be.

"Oh, jeez," I brought my hands to my mouth. "You poor souls."

All of their sad, beady eyes pouted at me. I immediately brought each one over, one by one, for a bath. On the board near the feeder, I learned each of their names: the horse was Pearl, the cow was Missy, and the sheep was Bambi. And as I combed through each of them, cleaning them with shampoos and water, I watched their tiny eyes light up. How could Sophia have left them like this?

I then filled each of their feeds with fresh hay, and watched as they all munched away. "I'll take you all outside to roam tomorrow, when I have a better idea of this place, okay babies?" I kissed all of their noses before leaving the barn.

They all made their typical barnyard noise before I left. I must've made them extremely happy. And, I couldn't lie; it brought a weird joy to my stomach. As I walked from the barn to the chicken coop, I couldn't help but keep a strange smile on my face. But walking into the chicken coop was worse.

So much worse.

There were four chickens. Three hens, one rooster. And each hen had laid eggs in each of their beds multiple times. Eggs were rising from their hay beds, and they barely had any feed left. They didn't move from their spot on the floor—they didn't even look up to acknowledge my entrance. They were dying.

"Sophiaaaaaaa," I murmured under my breath.

I didn't care if she ignored the locals or even destroyed her farm. What really bothered me was the way she easily let her animals die.

I collected all of the eggs and placed them in the shipping bin. They were horrible quality but at least they were out of the coop. I refilled their feed, and then proceeded to pick each chicken up, and pet them. I cuddled each one in my arms for several minutes, kissing their heads and letting them know that _I _cared about them. To show them that _someone _cared. How Sophia couldn't was what astounded me.

As I placed them down, they seemed much more cheerful. They clucked and actual began walking around their coop.

_Was I making a difference already?_

I exited the coop, and looked at my barren field. I looked at the strange house that I had no business living in. And then I figured that maybe it wasn't so hard being Sophia. And maybe it wasn't so scary. Hell, I looked exactly like her. I knew her terrible personality inside and out. I _knew_ her. All I had to do was _become_ her. And to start, maybe I should go down to the other islands and actually try and communicate. Just like Sophia would: excitedly, half-heartedly, and obliviously.

With that, I walked down to Verdure Island and saw the bigheaded man that Sophia had distinctly noted in the book to _say hi to every day._ She said she didn't enjoy it, but he always gave her the weather forecast for the next day. His name was Taro.

"Sophia!" Taro exclaimed.

I turned to look at him. He was smiling wide and proudly.

"My elbow is telling me it'll be sunny tomorrow! So get your field ready for the summer season!"

I gave him a nod and kept walking… considering that was something that Sophia would do. I didn't realize that parts of his body could tell the weather. It was an interesting concept and I really didn't know what to make of it. But I decided to walk down the paths as I tried to figure out where I was going. What day of the week was it even? I sighed, and realized that I hadn't even eaten anything today. So I went inside the Diner and there I saw a man behind the counter. I forgot his name but I don't think it was very important. I ordered an omelette and sat down at a table by myself. There were some other people in the Diner, but I didn't care to say hi to any of them. They waved to me from across the way, but that was all the attention I gave them. They didn't need anything else. Sophia wouldn't have given them anything else. She really only cared about herself and her prissy city friends.

And it got me to think and wonder. Why did she spend all of her time here when she didn't even like the locals? Why did she want to live here so bad when she barely tried to make the profit? It was perplexing.

The people surrounding me in all of the other seats all seemed as genuine as Dr. Trent, and Mark, and Taro. Taro was interesting but his smile permeated me with happiness in the strangest way. Was that why this place was called Sunshine Islands? I quickly pulled out the notebook to try and match each face with a name and a personality. And as I scanned across the room, I was able to make some connections.

There was Felicia and her two kids, Natalie and Elliot. They were all having breakfast together. Sophia noted that Natalie was younger than Elliot, but she always picked on him. It was also noted that Taro was their grandfather, and Felicia's father.

Pierre and Sabrina. Pierre was the avid cooker while Sabrina was the shy girl who lived in the mansion on Sprout Island. (I wouldn't have been surprised if Sophia tried to be friends with her.)

And lastly, there was Alisa. Sophia had absolutely nothing written about her, so clearly they never talked.

But looking across their faces, they all had something about them that seemed unique and vibrant. I could tell just by their aura from across the room. Hearing Natalie's and Elliot's petty arguments, and Sabrina's quiet laugh and Pierre's jubilant shouts, there was something about all of these people just sitting here in the diner this morning that made me realize how pure everyone was here. There was so much innocence and happiness spread in everyone. I could tell just by six people sitting across three tables that it was such a tight knit community. They waved to me even though it was obvious through Sophia's small journal entries that she rarely talked to anyone here. But they still gave me the attention that I didn't deserve. Well, maybe not me, but my sister.

They all just seemed so happy.

The bell above the door rang, and a face came through. A familiar one already—it was Mark. Once he said hi to everyone at the tables, he came over to me. He didn't sit down; he just leaned on his hands from the other side of the table and grinned.

"Hello again!" he said excitedly. "See you finally came down for some breakfast."

I twitched my lip and tried to choke up a Sophia-style answer. "Yeah well. You know me!"

He raised a blonde brow and sat down two seats away from me. He folded his arms together like a second grader ready to learn for the day, a kiddy smile spread across his cheeks. Might I say, he looked pretty adorable.

"I really don't know you, actually. I mean you know I check on your farm every now and then, but c'mon, let's be honest, you know I do that so one day I could take this farm away from you."

Threatened. I feel threatened.

"But," he continued, "seeing you this morning was different. I haven't seen you care for that farm in so many seasons and it made me kind of hopeful. So I wanna get to know you because I think something sparked in you."

I now raised a brow at him. _Alright, who is this Mark guy, really? _

"You want to get to know me?" I almost snapped. _Sophia reaction: A+. _"I've been here for a year and a half, I really don't understand—"

"I know you're not here often but I think we could be… friends?"

I stared blankly at him. "You're forcing something, and you should stop it now. If you knew me you'd know that I'd rather be back home in the city than in this little island. I just… I'm not who you think I am or who you want me to be. Please."

I stood up angrily and stormed out of the café, as dramatic little Sophia would do. It felt so awkward doing it, though. I hated doing it. Because I wasn't Sophia.

It was that moment when I realized how difficult it was going to be becoming my sister. I barely even began my new life as my sister and I realized how hard it was going to be. She and I were polar opposites, and anyone who knew both of us knew that. We had no similarities and nothing to bond with. And yet, so easy as a resemblance can fool people to thinking I'm her. She must've never told anyone her personal life because none of them knew that I existed.

But how was I going to make it out as portraying my sister all year? She was so distant from what I could ever be. It was a real challenge she put on me.

"Hey hey hey!"

Aw shit. Was that Mark following me? I showed him too much Chelsea and not enough Sophia. And I think that little bit of Chelsea was the glimpse of hope that Mark was not going to let go.

"Sophia."

He grabbed my arm and turned me around. He stared at me with wide green orbs. He had beautiful eyes, yes. But the look he was giving me. He was reaching out for something I wasn't going to show him. I was trying to show him lies and I've already failed at that.

"Mark, let go of me. Just stop it. We were never friends before, so why would we be friends now?"

I broke my arm away, and trudged up back to Ranch Island.

Who would've thought that _I_ would have to play the jerk on Sunshine Islands.


	3. Chapter 3

It was the beginning of summer and I had already stopped by Chen's shop to pick up seeds (I was starting to get the hang of names, even though I rarely talked to anyone around here). I began to use my hoe to make the land better suited for planting. I created a little fence in the back of my plot to let the animals roam free on the nice days. They ate the feed but I was beginning to grow patches of grass for them to eat. They seemed much happier now that I've been milking Missy, collecting all of the hens' eggs, and giving each of them the attention they've been craving for. It was a beautiful Monday morning and as much as I hated being my sister, I sure loved being here.

What nobody knew though was that I was absolutely terrified of riding Pearl. She had the saddle in the back and everything. Now, when Sophia was younger, she used to ride. She took lessons, she competed: she did the whole nine yards. I have never even gotten so close to a horse before. I wasn't _afraid_ of horses. I thought they were beautiful, gentle creatures. I'm just afraid of what would happen if I got _on_ a horse. I've seen horrific accidents on TV of people getting kicked off their horses and being paralyzed. What kind of sick joke is that? It was a fear of mine ever since I was eight when I watched a girl at Sophia's barn get thrown off her horse, instantly breaking her neck. It traumatized me. Sophia didn't even watch it because she was too busy gloating to my mom about how amazing she was at the jumps and whatever else they were called.

Mark stopped a visit this morning. I haven't seen him since I nearly yelled at him in front of the diner. But this conversation was a lot different.

"Sophia?" I turned as I was watering all of the finally finished seeds.

"Oh. Hey." I turned back to water my crops.

"Can we talk?"

I sighed. I looked up at him. He looked deadpan serious. And I guess there was no other way to take it. I placed the water can by the edge of my field, and he led me inside my own home.

I realized that it looked messy since I was barely moved in but he didn't even note it. He probably didn't even know what her house looked like. But we stood there, across from each other, when he finally sat down at my table. I followed him. I tried to keep the best prissy face on when he easily made it go away with his very first remark.

"Okay, who the hell are you?"

I stared wide-eyed at him. _What? What? WHAT?_

"Mark, you're being stupid."

"No, I'm not." He looked like he was getting aggravated with me. I was only here for a few days, barely. He couldn't get like this with me. Could he? "You're acting weird. Like you barely even know how to act yourself. And, might I say, you're doing a really crappy job at it."

I furrowed my eyebrows at him. _I couldn't have been that bad at being my sister. He couldn't know her better than _I_ do._

"Do you even hear yourself, you sound like a mental patient."

"Sophia—or, whoever you are—just fess up. I'm getting tired of being shut out by someone who can barely keep a mean face."

_Maybe I was that bad at acting like my sister._

We looked at each other for what felt like forever. He was scavenging. His eyes were like pickaxes that were tearing me down, all the way to my core. I knew the expression was "eyes are the windows to the soul", but did this guy prove it. He fumbled with his fingers, annoyed, and I figured that this was pointless. How he got me figured out so quickly was beyond me. But trying to lie about it when he so clearly knows that I'm not Sophia is just even more pathetic than this little act that the two of us are trying to play.

"Fine," I sighed. "I'm not Sophia."

His eyes widened. He knew he was right, be probably just wasn't expecting me to confess. I was weak, what could I say.

"Are you like…" he was trying to not say it. Because I could tell he was dumbfounded as is.

"Her twin?" I chuckled. "Yeah. We're identical twins."

He sighed, covering his face with his palm. He slowly brought it down his face, stretching his skin like rubber. He then shook himself out of it, and stared at me again. "So explain to me why the hell you're here and she isn't?"

I fell face first into the table in front of me. Maybe taking a theater class or two in high school would've helped.

"She got invited to go on a year-long tour with her friend from the city. Taro yelled at her about constantly abandoning her farm so she couldn't leave it because she wants to stay here. So she called me and asked me to be her for the next year while she's living it up around the world."

Mark narrowed his eyes on me. "And you agreed to it?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "I can't say no."

"Selfish Sophia," he grumbled under his breath. He laughed and said, "That's what Julia and I always call her. Selfish Sophia. She's always thinking about herself. We never really understood why she took that job as the rancher when she doesn't do anything about it."

"You can't say anything though!" I said, a shrill tone creeping in my voice. "If the town were to find out, they'd kick her out. And I couldn't do that to my sister."

He sighed. He obviously didn't want to. I couldn't blame him; anyone in his or her right mind would kick my sister out of this place. She didn't belong. She didn't care. And yet, just by that sigh, I knew he was going to do it. So immediately I smiled and hugged him. Hugging strangers? Definitely not a Sophia thing to do.

"Thank you," I sighed into him. "God I feel so much better now that that's off my chest."

"How long have you been here, anyways?" he looked at me.

I released him and tapped my chin jokingly. "Literally three days."

He spit laughing. "Wow, you suck."

I playfully pushed him, and he stood up next to me. "Am I really that bad at acting like my sister?"

He thought about it for a few seconds, as we began to walk out of my door. We were on our way down Verdure Island when he said, "I mean, you sound and look just like her. So it was difficult at first. But you just seemed like you were trying so hard to be mean when, for her, it's so natural. It's a reflex, a second nature for her. I can tell with you that you're _not_ like that."

"We're opposites," I said with a smile. "We don't know what went wrong with her."

He couldn't help but laugh again. It really got me to thinking what kind of name my sister brought upon herself here. And what name I was taking for her while she was touring the world. I noticed I got some unhappy hellos throughout the days and it must've gone to show that my sister really hasn't done much for these people. But there was a face I haven't seen yet since I was here. I brushed him aside in my book really quickly but when I saw him now, it was much different.

He was the cowboy. He had silver hair and basically all-black attire. He covered his eyes with a Stetson hat, and his brown boots clicked as he walked. He didn't make eye contact with anyone; he just walked down the path, staring at the tips of his pointed shoes, and made a sharp turn into Mirabelle's shop. He closed the door after him, and that was that.

I immediately pulled out my little notebook and began flipping through the pages.

"What is that?" Mark took the book.

"Give it back!" I reached for it. I snatched it from him, a sinister little grin creeping up on my face. "Sophia made it for me. It was to help me figure everyone out in this place so I didn't seem lost."

"This is a _guide?_" Mark took it back. "Wow. I'll give Sophia this one. She put a lot of effort into this one. Except"—he began opening the map—"is this supposed to be a map of the islands?"

"Shut up!" I took the notebook back. He continued to stare at the map as if it were an impossible puzzle. "I'm trying to figure out who that cowboy was again."

Mark's lips curved into a smile. "You mean Vaughn?"

And right as he said that, I turned back to his picture and his short description. _Lives with Mirabelle. Cowboy. Comes every Monday and Tuesday because of a job in the city. Weirdo. _

"Sophia called him a weirdo, is that… true?" I asked him.

He shrugged his shoulders. "I wouldn't say weird. Just quiet."

"I thought Sabrina was quiet, too. Sophia didn't call her a weirdo."

Mark just kept walking. "Vaughn's different. He's difficult to explain."

And who would've thought that just by Mark's few descriptions like that, it made me so easily curious about him. What could've made him different?

* * *

It was later that night and I was bored. I brought all of my animals inside, and I walked Mark back to his hotel. He was very sweet, actually. Now that I wasn't pretending to be a jerk to him. I was happy that I could actually tell someone my secret so I don't have to pretend around _someone_. It felt that much easier to survive here.

But it was creeping to eleven at night, so no one was scouting around the islands trying to find something to do. No one was making his or her way about. Everyone was home, sleeping. It was peaceful at night. I could avoid confrontation, awkward stares and devilish glares. And so I took the opportunity to look back up into the sky and admire the moon and stars again. No one ever really knew how much constellations fascinated me. It was a secret little obsession that I had. I had a telescope in my room—not an amazing one—but a decent one. I always loved watching the eclipses and the summer and winter solstices. There was something about the stars and moon that just made me feel better about the way things were. Except if I ever wanted to really watch them, I'd have to leave the city. The city was so polluted it was impossible to enjoy a starry night, because no night is ever starry. Smoke always filled the sky.

I was sitting on the beach on my own. I couldn't express how weird it felt to be almost despised by everyone in town when it wasn't even me. Even though I'm technically not even me. It's so confusing, and such a difficult concept. I wish I could just be Chelsea. I'm already tired of being Sophia.

I heard mumbling and quiet laughing behind me. I almost didn't want to turn around; I was afraid to. Everyone scared me in this town. I didn't know how to act or react because everything I seemed to be doing was wrong.

But I turned around anyways.

It was Julia and Natalie. They were talking about something, and whatever it was, it was funny. And when they saw me, their murmurs and giggles came to a quick silence.

"Oh… hi, Sophia," Natalie said without a smile.

I smiled sweetly. "Hi Julia, hi Natalie."

"What're you doing here?" Julia wondered. "It's kinda late. You should be sleeping to work on your farm."

"_Or not_," Natalie mumbled. I was supposed to hear it, I could tell.

I tried to control myself. Sophia clearly got on Natalie's bad side. _That_ was for sure.

"I actually have been working on my farm, lately," I said to Natalie in my snobbiest tone. I then looked over at Julia. "I'm just not tired, so I decided to look at the stars."

"Oh. That's nice," Julia feigned a smile. It was obvious. "Well, we'll be seeing you around then. Night!"

They both waved with empty happiness. I waved back at them with a sincere smile, sincere enough that they could tell I was trying. Sophia doesn't try. Everything was so different now that I couldn't be myself. It seemed easy when I accepted the offer. All I had to do was be bossy and annoying for a year. It didn't sound so bad. But I didn't realize the toll it was going to take on me. And it's only bee a few days.

I wanted to be nice to people. To be able to hang out with different people every day with getting snotty remarks because my sister doesn't care about anything but herself. There are so many things I wish were not, but they are. All because I decided to do my sister a yearlong favor. Sophia isn't even here to make any decisions, to tell me her memories and how she feels and acts towards certain people. I'm _not_ Sophia. I will never _be_ like Sophia. And I don't want to be. These reactions she receives from people don't affect her, but they do for me. And they're not even meant for me, they're meant for her. And yet, it makes me feel low because I have basically _become_ her. I decided to fill her shoes, take her name, her personality, and her face. Why were we identical? Why did we have to look and sound the same, yet be completely different?

I heard different set of feet behind me on the trail. The shoes sounded familiar. _Click, clack._ The spurs rang against the heels of the boots, and I knew it was that mysterious cowboy that was apparently so strange and "different". I turned around to find the cowboy's Stetson shading his face. It was even more impossible to see under the moonlight.

"Hey!" I called to him.

He kept walking, as if he didn't hear a cricket in the night.

"_Hey!_" I shouted a little louder.

He stopped dead in his tracks, and turned his head out to me. I waved to him with a smile, and he took his hat and lifted it up to me. He stared at me for a painful three seconds, before slowly approaching me. He didn't join me on the beach; he just stood at the edge where the grass meets the sand. He stared down at me, and I was finally able to see the color of his eyes. They were purple. _Purple,_ I thought, _that's incredible. _

They were a dark purple, but not violet. More…amethyst. His eyes were a beautiful amethyst color that I was finally able to see past his black hat and his thin silver hair.

"Sophia." He said bluntly, nodding his head at me. "What do you want?"

"I just thought I should say hi…" I twitched my lip under his uncomfortable gaze, "…so, hi!"

I watched his eyes narrow on mine. He kept his hands in his pockets, and I watched him shift his stance. He pursed his lips before responding slowly, "…Hi."

"What're you doing out so late?" I wondered.

"What're _you_ doing out so late?" he retorted, not a second to hesitate. "You've got your so-called farm to tend for tomorrow, you should really be sleeping well. You could easily get overtired."

"I'm fine," I said blankly. "I always go to sleep late."

"Whatever," he continued to spit back.

_Okay_, I thought in the back of my mind, _this guy kinda sucks. _

"Whatever," I repeated, trying to toss it aside. "And for your information, Mr. Cowboy, I've actually taken more interest in my farm and my animals."

His eyes lit up a bit. "Really?" But the mood quickly dropped when he murmured, "I'll believe it when I see it."

And that was what got me angry. I stood up from my place and approached him. And the closer I got, the more attractive he seemed to get. His hair literally sparkled under the moon. His eyes lit up in an electrical current across his iris. But the purse on his lips remained. He waited what I came here to tell him. And the inner Sophia was ready to come out.

"Come by tomorrow if you're really so curious. I have all of my summer crops beginning to grow, and I'm taking better of my animals. So come by at eight o'clock in the morning—I'll be awaiting your arrival. But of course, that's only if you _want_ to." I just smirked, and trudged past him, purposely hitting my shoulder onto his.

I turned my head back to him once more, and I smiled. "See you in the morning, cowboy."

And with that, I trudged back up to Ranch Island.

Sophia wasn't sassy. _I _was sassy. Sophia was downright mean and cruel, and she just gets to the point with full insult. I thought I had an inner Sophia, but, who was I kidding. I don't. All I have is I, and this fake interpretation of my sister that I thought I could pull off.

Yet, I'm pulling it off. I hate it, but it's working. Well, maybe not so well. Mark was able to figure me out in three days. Mark knew my sister the best, I'd assume, so that was how he was able to figure out what was wrong with me. But maybe… maybe if I tried something new it would work. It would be risky, and scary (like when Mark confronted me today), but it might just be worth it in the long run. I might be able to bring this farm, and the island's overall perspective, back into a positive run.

If Mark was the one who knew Sophia best, that was how he was able to figure me out. But no one else truly knows Sophia the way Mark does, and definitely not like the way _I_ do. And since I'm already beginning to treat this farm as if it were _my_ farm, and not my sister's, why couldn't I treat everyone else as if they were _my _neighbors, and not hers?

No one would know it was Chelsea. No one even _knew_ Chelsea. So something like this could actually be very simple to pull off. All I had to do was be _me._ I was going to redo Sophia from inside her mind. I was going to become her, and make her become me. The people might view me as Sophia, the girl transforming, but I would know it would just be Chelsea. It would just be me.

It seemed ridiculous, almost, to try and change Sophia. But she had me try and become her, and the world only knew how difficult that would be. I was going to act as myself. Change my sister for the better, and make her more like me. I wouldn't have to pretend to blow up at someone in a café just because that was something she would do. Or not care or talk to people just because that was something she would do. I would talk to people. Have them like me, form friendships with the ones who think that I'm such an awful person.

I would have them grow to like Chelsea, without them actually knowing it were me.

As I slipped into my house, it almost seemed ignorant to do so. Sophia was going to come back in a year and figure out that I recreated her into me. But maybe it would open her eyes into either realizing that she didn't belong here, or she had to change who she really was. Either way, my idea was foolproof.

Why change my personality, when all I had to do was change my name?


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Thank you to those who are reading this! It means a lot to me. I haven't posted in such a long time in and it means a lot to anyone who is reviewing or following or favoriting my story. I have other Harvest Moon stories in my archives, as well as some one shots and of course some unfinished ones. Check them out! (or not, the older ones kind of suck, oops...) **

* * *

I woke up at six o'clock on the dot the next morning and I more or less felt like I wanted to kill myself.

But I had to prove this silver haired, purpled eyed, western style cowboy that I did too take care of my farm, as well as the animals. I needed to show him that Chelsea was taking over Sophia's identity now, and she was going to make some changes around here. So I went to water all of the crops, each individually. I checked how each of them was growing, and they all seemed to be growing at an even pace. I then went to let all of the animals out into the little barn into their little fenced area. The grass was tall enough for them to graze and eat. I brushed all of them, milked Missy, sheered Bambi, and collected all of the hens' eggs in the coop. I shipped the eggs, but decided to hold onto the milk in my rucksack. All of the animals looked happy, the crops all looked happy, and my barn looked as best as it could be.

By the time I finished everything, it was ten minutes to eight. If Vaughn were really going to stop by my farm, hopefully he'd be impressed with the effort I've made since _I've_ been here. And according to the islanders, my interest was extremely sudden. He _had_ to be impressed.

I decided to spend the next ten minutes with the animals. I sat on the edge of the fence and watched them all graze and roam around the grass. I couldn't fathom how Sophia could nearly let these animals rot. What twisted soul could do that to something so innocent? I was completely taking them under my care. If she wouldn't, then I certainly would.

I wondered where in the world she was now. She was probably drinking every night on that nice boat with her friend, celebrating their happy-go-lucky lives and how everything is so easy for them. Sophia barely lived in the real world of the city and she couldn't even make this life worth it for her. She barely even lived here; she ignored this farm, as well as all of the people, and the island as a whole. It was sad knowing that that was the life my sister led here.

_Click, clack._

My smiled curved sinisterly. _He was here,_ I thought.

I turned my body around, my bottom sliding from the side of the fence, and I fell flat on my back to the hard ground. I felt bones in my back crack and the thump of my back hitting the soil. I clenched my teeth, and I quickly heard the _click clack_ of the boots speed up. _Clickclackclickclack. _

Vaughn was standing over me now. His eyes were glaring down into mine, his hair finally fallen from his face. He sighed over me, and held out a hand for me to grab. I reached for it and tightened my grip on him, as he pulled me to my feet. I jumped in place when I was standing. My back hurt, but it was fine. Maybe I just needed a massage.

"Oops," I chuckled. "I've always been really clumsy."

"You should really be more careful," I heard him mumble. I pulled his hat further down his eyes. Gone.

"Okay…" I said softly. I then perked up. "Buuuut what do you think of my farm? I think it's improving, don't you think?"

That was when he scanned it. He circled around, and looked at my crops for a split second, before he really began to scrutinize the animals. He approached them, and began feeling their skin, petting their feathers, staring into their eyes and at their faces. He loved animals. It couldn't have been more obvious what this man loved. He hated people, but loved animals. That was his little quirk; and I thought it was interesting and intriguing. A man who was so mysterious and awfully blunt, loved horses and cows and sheep and chickens. It was almost adorable.

"I see you like my animals, huh?" I smirked.

"Your horse is sick." He snapped his head at me, as he began petting Pearl's head. Pearl immediately was drawn to his gentle hands.

"What?" I jumped over the fence and stared at her. "There's no way."

"It couldn't be any more obvious." He stared at me angrily. "How could you be so irresponsible?"

Okay. We barely knew each other. Even if I _was _Sophia, _they _barely knew each other. It was so uncomfortable that the man known for being a "weirdo" and "different" was raising his voice at me. It almost seemed backwards. Especially since this was the second day I've talked to him. I was here trying to prove him wrong, when I didn't know he was some animal expert.

"I'm… I'm sorry. I didn't even realize…" I knew it wasn't my fault that Pearl was sick. But it sure as hell felt like it. "I'm so sorry. Please, do you have any medicine for her? She needs to get better."

He stared at me.

"She needs to."

Vaughn looked back up at the horse. He pet her snout once more and nodded, his Stetson lowering on his head. "Yeah, I have medicine. I'm gonna be checking on her every Monday and Tuesday while I'm here, though. To make sure she gets better. Because I don't trust you."

So I couldn't lie and say that one didn't hurt a bit. Being outright told that you are not trusted by someone will always take some kind of effect to you. Well, maybe not for my sister, but definitely for me. I know he didn't trust me because of Sophia's actions, but maybe I could get him to trust me for my actions. Maybe he can grow to trust Chelsea.

He looked at me. I nodded, frantic and nervous. If an animal died while it was under my care, I wouldn't have been able to take it. If it weren't for old age, then I'd feel like a murderer.

"As long as Pearl gets better, I don't care. You can visit whenever you want at any time. Just have her feel better."

He stared at me strangely now. I watched his eyebrows furrow and his lips purse. It made me uncomfortable. Does he always do this? I sighed as he stared at me. I pretty much invited him to my ranch twice a week. He made me feel shaky and nervous—people didn't normally do this to me. I was usually so open with everyone. I liked making new friends and being friendly. And I was going to be nice to him, even though now I'm standing here, shaking like a leaf, afraid that he's going to scold me about Pearl.

"Oh!" I just remembered. I saved the milk from Missy. Maybe I could give it to him as a thank you? I was going to save it for myself, but I could always milk her again tomorrow. Vaughn wasn't going to be here tomorrow. "Here."

I pulled the bottle of milk and placed it in Vaughn's hands. He stared down at the object in his gloved palms, before slowly looking up at me. His mouth was slightly agape, his eyes still wide. I couldn't help but form a small grin across my cheeks. I shrugged and said, "I milked it this morning. It's a thank you."

"I didn't do anything," he spit.

"But you're _going_ to!" I said, smiling. "It's a thank you for helping Pearl."

He looked back down at the milk again, and said a rough, "Thanks" before putting it away. It made me smile just a little bit. He then pushed past me, and hopped over the fence. I watched as he made it half way across my plot of land before I shouted, "Where are you going?"

"Getting you medicine," I barely heard him say.

"How much is it?" I wondered, "I'll pay you back."

He stopped and turned around. He sighed before saying, "Don't worry about it."

I stared at him, as he turned back around, exiting my island. And right as he left, I watched him awkwardly encounter with Mark, who started running up to me, as I stood dumbfounded in the middle of my field. He approached me and stopped only a few inches away, and stared into my blank eyes.

"Chelsea," he said slowly, "are you okay?"

"He scares the living crap out of me." I broke out of my fog and looked up at him. "He is so scary."

Mark couldn't help but laugh and say, "Aw c'mon, he isn't that scary."

"He scolded me for my horse being sick!"

Mark shook his head. "He loves animals. Completely loves them. So yeah, he's gonna yell at you if something is wrong with one of them—especially if it's your horse."

"Especially?" _Well, fuck._

"Well, yeah. He couldn't care less if your crops were dying. But then horses are also his favorite animals. So the fact that your _horse_ is _sick_ is probably destroying him on the inside. You've corrupted him."

I put on a pretend crying face. "_I corrupted Vaughn!" _

He then laughed, and playfully pushed my shoulder. "That was not very convincing. You're a horrible actress, by the way."

"Look!" I pointed a finger in his face. "I tried, okay! I've got everyone else convinced I'm my sister. That's all that counts!" I poked his chest with my same finger and mumbled, "Bum."

He then playfully shoved me again, and I stuck my tongue out at him. After a bit of playing around, I sighed, and my head fell into Mark's chest. He tightened up, completely alarmed by my sudden action. He just stared down at me and my glum face and asked, "Uh… is something wrong?"

"The cowboy's gonna be here every Monday and Tuesday to make sure Pearl gets better," I muffled into his overalls.

Mark laughed out loud. "You'll be seeing a lot more of him, then!"

I raised my head, a devilish glare crossing my eyes. I whispered, "_Reaaally?" _in my most sarcastic tone.

Mark shrugged and said, "I don't understand why he freaks you out so much."

I lifted my head from his chest, and brushed myself off. I cleared my throat and said, "Because! He literally was like, "Your horse is sick, how could you be so irresponsible? And I'll buy your medicine for you, don't worry about it." But his face was definitely saying something like, "You're so immature, gosh, why can't you just do stuff yourself and not be so careless with your animals." And _Maaaaark _he just_ scaaares_ me!"

Mark was trying to hold back his laughter as he watched my little charade. And Vaughn was going to be back any minute with the animal medicine and I could care less if I mocked his gruff voice and spooky attitude. Mark covered his mouth, resting his arm on the other, an obvious grin behind his palm. I glared at him again, this time with a smile, and slapped his hand off his face. His smile widened when presented, and I slapped his shoulder.

"What!" he laughed. "Chelsea, he's not that bad. That's just how he is, always. So you're gonna have to grow used to it."

_He was always like this? _I wondered, staring back out at my bridge, as if Vaughn were going to walk across on cue. _How interesting. But… why was he like this?_

"Well," I crossed my arms. "There's gotta be a reason for it."

"Oh, of course there is," Mark said, "just no one knows what it is."

I cocked my head at him, furrowing my eyebrows. Before Mark could further explain, we both turned our heads to find Vaughn trudging back across my plot of land, holding a bottle in his hand. He approached Mark and I, stopping awkwardly in between the two of us.

He turned his head to Mark, and curtly nodded his head. He tipped his hat down at him and said, "Mark. Morning."

Mark put on a genuine smile and nodded back at the cowboy before saying, "Good morning, Vaughn."

Vaughn then walked in between us and right past us, making his way into the little fenced area that I created for the animals. I turned to look at Mark and widened my eyes, before Mark widened his back at me and shrugged his shoulders. I was about to mouth something to him before I heard the cowboy call for me.

"Sophia." I turned my head to his call. "You should come over here. I'll teach you how to give the animals medicine. Probably best you learn before you do it again sometime."

Vaughn and I made quick eye contact before I shouted, "Alright!" back at him. I then turned to Mark and raised my eyebrows. I took in a deep breath, and began approaching my animals.

"I'm gonna head down to the café," Mark said aloud, "Soph, I'll be there if you want to eat lunch afterwards."

"We'll see," I quickly spit, before climbing over the wooden fence.

I made my way and stood beside Vaughn and my horse. I watched as Mark began making his way back to Verdure Island, when I saw a pair of gloved fingers snap in front of my face. I shook from the sudden shock, and I turned to see Vaughn's eyes glaring down at me, with his face tight and his eyes expressionless. _How did he do that so easily? _I wondered. _How does he just mask his emotions like that? Other than anger and discomfort, of course. Those shine through like nothing else. _

"Pay attention," he almost snapped at me. I nodded, as he began showing me how to give the horse medicine.

Pearl hated it. Ingesting it was awful, but he showed me how to make sure she kept it down and swallowed it. It looked like she didn't enjoy it. He pet her snout carefully and Pearl was beginning to calm down. She looked so serene just by his touch. The horse nuzzled into his hand, and I watched as she took the medicine as if it were the grass beneath her feet. Pearl bowed her head to him, as he continued to pet her. I was amazed. He really was amazing with animals. He knew exactly how to treat them, and he knew exactly what to do with them. Mark said he preferred animals, and I understood why. It was a sense of joy that he got. They were innocent and compassionate. And I could've sworn, from under the shade of his Stetson, I saw Vaughn, the closed and spiteful cowboy, curve his lips into small smile.

"How do you do that?" I wondered softly.

He turned his head to me, the sound of my voice knocking him out of his trance. The smile that I saw was no longer there; it fell to the ground like gravity. It didn't stop him from petting Pearl, however, it did lose him from the place he felt more comfortable.

"I don't know what you mean."

I cleared my throat. "How you get her to just appreciate you like that. She was nearly falling into you."

He turned back to Pearl, whose eyes were closed and her head still bowed down before him. I couldn't even tell that she was sick, but it was as if Vaughn had a sixth sense about animals, and he clearly knew she wasn't well. Vaughn scratched behind her ears before saying, "You have to appreciate them, to start. They won't show you kindness unless you can prove to them that they can trust you." He then turned his head, and looked at me straight in my eyes. I felt him looking right through me. I felt him staring straight through my sapphire orbs, and coming clean saying, "_You're not Sophia." _The thought of it was frightening.

"I don't trust you." He said flat out and monotone. "And I'm not leaving you completely alone with your animals until I can."

He stopped petting Pearl for a second, and turned his entire body to face me. He wasn't going to leave himself distracted.

"Uh…" I stammered. Why was I so nervous around him?

"I don't trust you because you can't take care of your animals. Sure you washed them and built them a _fence_ but that doesn't mean they're going to like you. You need to give them attention every day. They're not a _plant_, Sophia. They need attention and affection. Do you understand?"

I nodded, my heart hammering into my chest. He made me shake like a leaf. My head was spinning. I didn't know him very well but he never seemed like he spoke much. He must've been really furious with my horse being sick. Not even that, just the care that I took for all of my animals. Well, technically it was the care that Sophia took for her animals before I took her place, but I was taking the heat. I decided I wanted to recreate her, and fix her farm, so I had to take all of the heat. And no matter how much my fingers trembled, or my knees shook, or my heart slammed into my ribcage, I was going to take it. I straightened my spine and stared at Vaughn. I looked right into his amethyst eyes, watching them swirl with anger and yet, also with no emotion at all. I was usually good at reading people. I could tell if there was something they weren't telling me, or if there was too much they were telling me. But I couldn't with Vaughn. They way he portrayed himself, the way his eyes glared into mine—I couldn't tell what he wanted to do.

"Just tell me what to do," I said, my words falling into a sigh. "And I'll do it."

Vaughn nodded at me, and looked over at Pearl once more. "There isn't much you can do now other than wait it out. Your horse… uh…"

"Pearl," I quickly filled in for him.

"Pearl. Pearl will be fine. I guess you should meet up with Mark now."

"Wouldn't you"—I paused, before realizing what I was actually doing—"uh, want to join us?"

Vaughn shook his head, before looking at me again. His eyes were narrowed on me before he said "Leave me to my business."

And with that, he excused himself from my island.

I waited a few minutes after he departed before I actually began to walk toward the bridge myself. I had my hands dug into my pockets, my head looking down at my red boots. I couldn't express what had happened today, and what was swarming around inside my mind. My mind were like a million flies, buzzing around inside my brain, all of them dazed and confused and circling around one another. My mind was wrapped around this guy that frightened me. Yet, with his scary composure, he intrigued me. He enticed me because he _was_ different. He was distant. He was emotionless towards people, but he regained a sense of joy with animals that I couldn't even understand. It was unique and mysterious. Someone so difficult and shut out had never seemed more interesting to me. He was a challenge. And I always liked a challenge.

"He just shut me out," I told Mark later in that hour over lunch. "I could see it in his eyes just how empty he is."

"I told you, he was different," Mark tried to reason.

I sat back in my chair, crossing my arms. I bit the inside of my lip before mumbling to myself, "He's interesting."

"Chelsea," he whispered my name softly. He leaned across the table, staring right at me. "You don't want to get involved with a guy like him. He's…"

We turned to the door to see Julia and Natalie and Lanna walk in. Lanna was following behind like an excited schoolgirl, leeching off of Julia who was smiling just as wide. Leading in front of them was Natalie, who, when her eyes came into contact with mine, she just scoffed and flipped her strawberry blonde hair away. Julia and Lanna looked over at me, both of their smiles fading just a tad, but still a small smile remaining. I smiled wide and waved to them sweetly. When they saw my smile, theirs widened back to what it was only ten seconds prior, and they waved back just as excitedly. They then turned and stood beside Natalie at the counter to order their food.

"Mark!" I spit quietly. He faced me. "Sit closer. I need to talk to you."

He scooted to the next chair that was beside me. I looked at him and then back up at Natalie, who was still at the counter. I turned back at Mark and said whispered, "Every time Natalie and I look at each other, she rolls her eyes at me. And the other night she gave me complete attitude."

Mark blinked at me, clueless.

I sighed. "Did Sophia and her have a problem with each other? My sister didn't tell me anything with Natalie."

His face was full with realization. He looked over at Natalie, Julia, and Lanna again, and they all grabbed a table and were facing us. Mark grabbed my wrist and said softly, "We can't talk here" and pulled me to my feet, and led me out the door, still grabbing my wrist. I don't think he meant to do it intentionally, but his hand was wrapped tightly and it hurt as he pulled me out of the café.

"Hey!" I said as we left the café. "That hurt!"

"Look," Mark said, as he began walking down the paths of Verdure Island. It looked like we were heading in the direction for the boat down by the dock. "What happened between Sophia and Natalie was out of control. And it just sucks even more because I really _didn't _want to tell you, but I guess I kind of have to. Since it happened. But we need to talk somewhere more private than the café, or the diner, or anything."

We stepped onto the boat, because clearly that was what he wanted to do.

"Kirk, Meadow Island, please," he said.

Kirk smiled up at him, started the motor to the boat, and sped off to Meadow Island. I stared at Mark the entire way to the island. He looked jittery and nervous. What was it that he had to tell me that was making him so nervous? I know I got nervous around Vaughn, but that was because he scared me. Maybe what Mark had to tell me was going scary for him. But clearly he knew a lot about it if we had to talk in private. So I went along with it, because before we knew it, Kirk was pulling up to the dock on Meadow Island. I had never been to Meadow Island yet, but it looked identical to any other meadow. There was the shrine that Sophia had noted on her map, and it looked much more beautiful than the scribble she drew with colored pencils and smudged markers.

"Wow," I whispered, stepping off the boat. I cleared my throat, and turned back to Kirk and said, "Thank you for the ride!"

His face lit up a tad as I said that. He smiled sincerely and nodded his head. "Thank you," he said.

Mark led me over to the far side of the island, close to the shrine. I really wanted to read the shrine, and stand over it and appreciate the inscriptions and beautiful gems on it. There was no way anyone on this island created that shrine. It was so gorgeous and it looked almost ancient. I wanted a better look, but Mark' s story was clearly important to him. We kicked off our shoes, and sat along the edge of the island, dipping our toes into the water. It was cold but refreshing.

"Okay," he whispered. "This is going to be really awkward to talk about."

Now _I_ started getting nervous.

He took in a breath before starting. "So about over year ago, Natalie and I were dating. And it was pretty serious. We were already dating by the time your sister moved in. So once your sister moved in, Natalie started getting really jealous. Because she always thought you—err, technically, your sister—was really pretty. And other than your sister's selfishness and bad attitude, we kinda got along. Not necessarily friends, but…friendly. So you know how I told you how I would always check on Sophia's farm? Because I wanted it?"

I nodded. "Of course."

"So… it was never anything more than that. Except one day while I was checking the farm, Sophia invited me for coffee. I followed her inside the house, she made the coffee, but things got messy _really_ quickly."

I stared at him. I felt that same fear, that same hammering in my chest, the same shaky fingers and spinning head. I knew where this was going. I knew Sophia. I didn't know her like _this_.

"Mark. Just say it."

He sighed, looking down at his lap. "She just started looking really pretty and really sexy. And so before I knew it, we were kissing. And then we kind of slept together."

I wrinkled my nose and squeezed my eyes shut when he said it. _I knew it, I knew it, I knew it._

"It wasn't supposed to happen!" he quickly defended himself. "It all happened so fast. She gave me coffee, we took two sips, and then she started talking really slowly and flipping her hair around, and batting her eyes at me. And then she kissed me and I couldn't help myself."

"That's Sophia for you," I murmured under my breath.

Mark sighed again. "That was the only time we did anything. And it was kept in secret for a while; but in hindsight, that was a really bad idea. Because then Sophia used it as sabotage on Natalie for a reason I don't even know. But she and Julia were hanging out and Sophia "slipped" it, even though she knew Julia would immediately tell Natalie. Next day, Natalie comes up to me in tears, screaming about Sophia and breaks up with me on the spot. Sophia and I fought after that, but I would still visit her farm every now and then on friendly terms."

"Is that why when you saw a new light in me… you wanted to hang out with me?" I wondered softly.

"No," he said sternly. "I wanted to hang out with you because I wanted to figure you out. I told you, Chelsea. I _knew_ Sophia. I visited her almost daily, we did things that we shouldn't have done. So when you came in and acted different, I wanted to dig deeper, and see what was going on."

The entire time, I was looking down at my hands, fiddling with my fingers. I watched the patterns I made in my skin and the colors change dark to light. I felt the skin slide and move over my bone. I tried to focus on everything other than what I was hearing. But I couldn't do it. Mark had slept with my sister. _My sister._ That looks _exactly_ like me.

"Isn't this weird for you?" I wondered. "Being friends with me. Knowing that I'm not Sophia, but… knowing we're sisters. And we're identical."

Mark stared at me.

"It's not weird being friends with me knowing that you slept with someone who looks just like me? Ruining your relationship with Natalie?" I started getting louder.

Mark's eyes grew wide. His voice was shaky when he said, "N-no. Not anymore, at least."

I stared at him. He was an idiot. Him and my sister were so stupid. Because I didn't know Natalie, but I bet she was sweet if you actually got to know her. If she could be in such a committed relationship with Mark, she definitely had a good side to her. She must have had one. Because Mark was sweet. I would've never guessed _he_ of all people on the islands would have slept with my sister.

"Is that why everyone on the islands hate me?" I whispered.

"You mean Sophia," Mark said just as soft.

"But I _am_ Sophia, Mark," I stared at him angrily. "It doesn't matter if I'm actually Chelsea. None of that matters. All that matters is that everyone _else_ thinks I'm Sophia. And I'm taking every glare, every rude remark… I'm taking absolutely _everything_ as if _I_ did it. And it's killing me, honestly. Knowing how many people don't like me."

"Look, Chels. They don't hate you. And it's not because of what happened between your sister and I. Maybe some of the locals around here our age, but not all of them. Like Vaughn. Vaughn could care less if Sophia slept with me. And all of the adults don't care because none of them really know. You have to understand that Sophia just doesn't fit in here. People didn't like her for a lot of reasons. She was selfish, she was mean, and she was downright awful to everyone in sight. She did whatever she did just to pass by and it was disgusting. And now that you're here you're going to _have_ to take the heat. And it sucks but _you_ agreed to it."

"Mark, stop."

"No. Because you have to understand this is hard for a lot of us, okay?"

I furrowed my eyebrows at him. "Mark, what is up with you?"

He sighed. He brought his knees up and placed his head on them. He threw his hat off behind him, and ran his fingers through his hair. He then gripped his blonde locks angrily.

"Talk to me, please."

He looked back up at me. His cheeks were stained with tears and his eyes were reddening. My heart fell in my chest.

"I still love her," he whispered softly, before crashing his head to his knees again. "I love Natalie so much and she thinks I hate her. It was just a stupid thing and she'll never forgive me for it."

I looked at his aching body. And in that moment I knew I wasn't alone. He felt the same things I was feeling. He felt neglected. He felt disliked. He felt ignored. I watched his body shake in front of me and I listened to his muffled sobs. He missed her. He missed her more than anything. And watching him fall apart in front of me, the least I could do was scoot closer to him and wrap him in the biggest embrace I had ever given.


	5. Chapter 5

I awoke later that week and immediately tended to my farm and to my animals. I made sure that Pearl got the proper care for and all my other animals were in good condition. I didn't want my other animals to get sick unintentionally. I pet them and brushed them, and fed them well. I collected all of the milk and the eggs and put them in the shipping bin for now. I watered my crops and made sure they were all growing evenly and nicely. The farm, overall, was doing well. Vaughn made me second-guess everything due to Pearl being sick. It made me nervous now. It was Saturday morning and he was coming back in two days, and that made me shiver in my boots. I was afraid he'd criticize me more and I'd cry right in front of him… or something ridiculous like that.

However, I was out of animal feed. So I needed to go to Mirabelle's and pick it some more up. And I was hoping that while I was there, I would run into Julia.

I walked down to Verdure Island, and turned into Mirabelle's shop. She was standing behind the counter, playing a word puzzle, before she stopped to look up at me when I walked through the door. The bells above me chimed, welcoming me, as Mirabelle gave a small smile.

"Hello, Sophia," she said. "Is there something you need?"

I approached the counter. "Just some more animal feed would be really great."

"Okay, and would you like that now or would you like it put in the feeding bins?" she wondered.

"The feeding bins, please," I smiled.

Her eyes perked up to me, and her small smile rose a bit. She punched in the cost into her register, and I gave her the amount of G that she wanted.

"Thank you," I said politely.

Her smile remained, a positive aura as she said, "You're very welcome!"

And in that moment, Julia walked in through the front door, holding a huge bag of feed across her arms. She struggled as she pushed through the door. Watching her struggle, I quickly fled to her and picked up the other side of the heavy bag. I lunged underneath and lifted it up, and I saw half of Julia's face on the other side. Her cheeks were red, as if she were holding her breath the entire time. I watched her eyes squint a bit.

"Sophia?" she wondered, her voice muffled through the bag.

"Hi!" I said cheerfully, and helped her bring the bag to the counter. We placed it down in front of Mirabelle, who smiled sweetly.

"Thank you Julia, you're done for now. I'll let you know if there's anything else I need you to do. But I think I'll wait until Monday, and make Vaughn do all the heavy lifting." She chuckled, as did her daughter.

"You're welcome Mom!" Julia smiled sweetly. She then turned to me, her smile fading ever so slightly. "Thanks, Sophia."

"I need to talk to you," I said immediately. "Privately, if you don't mind?"

"Um…" she flicked her eyes to her mother, and then back at me. She kept her smile still somewhat faint. "Sure! We can talk in the back room, if you'd like."

"That'd be best."

She led me to the back. There was a hall that separated into three different rooms. One large bedroom that looked as if it were for Mirabelle and Julia. It also had a table and some chairs. The other room was a bathroom. And the last room was a singlet, and it was empty at the moment. It must've been Vaughn's room when he was here in the islands.

She took me to the large bedroom, and we sat down at the table. She sat across from me, her fingers intertwined. I shifted uncomfortably in my chair, her gaze still one me.

"What did you want to talk about?" she said softly.

I had to do this as if I really knew what happened.

"Look, Julia. I know you and I aren't on the best of terms, and I don't blame you for it. I just needed to talk to you."

She stared at me, urging me to continue.

"I just want you to know I'm sorry. And I know I didn't do anything to you, but I did to your best friend. And I'm sorry about that."

"Shouldn't you be telling her this?" she raised a brow at me.

"Hear me out right now." I sighed. "I'm going to get to her. But I realized how big of a mistake I made with her. I did her so wrong, and I did just as bad to Mark. I was talking to him the other day and I realized that because of me, I broke both of their hearts."

She raised a brow at me, confused.

"Mark still loves her. He still does and it looks as if he'd do anything to have her back. And I know you're Natalie's best friend. I want you to help me get them back together, make them happy again."

"You… really want to do this?" she wondered softly. "You seriously want to help them?"

"I do!" I said loudly. "All I want is for Natalie and I to be okay. And I want Mark to be happy. I want them _both_ to be happy. That day, I didn't realize how much I was going to do. I didn't realize how badly I would've impacted their lives. And I feel like such a horrible person for doing it."

"Well I mean, you had sex with her boyfriend. That's a terrible thing to do, Soph," she narrowed her eyes on me.

"I know, I know," I said sadly. "And I didn't mean it. Not to hurt them. I was being selfish and I was thinking in the moment rather than long term. I just really want them to be happy again…"

She looked at me with sad eyes. Her eyes were a beautiful baby blue. Along with her sad eyes, she gave me a sad smile, and slouched a little bit in her chair.

"What gave you such a change in heart?" she whispered. "It's been a year since."

I shrugged my shoulders. "Better late than never, right?"

She smiled at me. A better smile. It was still sad, however. The sad eyes were still paired with the sad smile. "I don't think it'd be a good idea."

"Why not?"

"Maybe it was best that this happened! Maybe it was best that him and Natalie aren't like this."

"But not because So—_I_ did something! That's not fair to their relationship. I shouldn't have messed it up, because they were perfect for each other. Weren't they?" I urged her.

"Yes, they were, but…"

"But what? Julia, you have to be honest with me. Natalie must tell you how she feels. Tell me Natalie still doesn't have feelings for Mark."

"Sophia, this is crazy!"

"Please," I whispered. "I just want Mark happy again. I saw him crying yesterday and that was because _I _messed up. Tell me that Natalie doesn't have any feelings for him and I'll leave you alone and we could forget this."

Julia stared at me. Her eyes bored into mine. They shook under the faint lighting and she let in a large inhale, followed by and even greater exhale. She gnawed at her lip, glanced down at her intertwined fingers, and then back up at me.

"She still loves him, too," she said, a crack in her voice. "She talks about him all the time."

"We could help them!" I said to her. "Please. I think if we made them realize how wonderful they were for each other again, and if Natalie could forgive him, they can find happiness with each other again."

It was in this moment when Julia spread the largest smile across her cheeks. She immediately separated her linked hands and gripped them with mine. I had never seen her this happy, at least, not around me. She had a sincere sense of excitement permeate her body, because the sad eyes lifted with jubilance.

"I'm so excited!" she squeaked. "You're right, Sophia. We need to make them realize that they're perfect for each other and that they can't give it up!" She sighed, her burst of enthusiasm leaving in that breath. "I'm so glad you came into this realization."

"I also really want Natalie and I to be friends," I said. "I feel so awful and I hate knowing that I put us in such a bad place without giving us a real chance."

"That's going to be difficult," Julia nodded. "Natalie has had a grudge on you ever since."

"I'm aware, she makes it obvious," I said softly. I looked down at my hands. "It kills me knowing that I distanced us so easily. It wasn't fair."

Julia quickly gripped one hand with mine again, which caused me to look up at her. She had a hopeful grin spread on her cheeks. Her eyes were bright and wide. "Just apologize to her! At least let her know that you're truly sorry for what happened all that time ago. After that, she might begin to like you little by little again."

"With your help…?" I put on a hopeful smile.

Julia cocked her head in confusion.

"Just talk to her for me, please. After I apologize to her, of course. So she knows from someone she trusts."

Julia bit her lip again.

"What is it?" I wondered.

"I do trust you. And I trust that you want to help them out. But also... it's so sudden. I can't put _all_of my trust into you immediately, you know? We could hang out more, and work on Natalie and Mark together, and then I can talk to her when I know I can."

I smiled sadly, nodding my head.

"I'm sorry Sophia. But I couldn't do it any other way."

My sister really messed up in this place to lose the trust of every single local.

"I completely understand. Thank you for giving me a chance. That's all I wanted," I said softly, a small smile creeping on my face.

She mirrored my smile, and grabbed both my hands again. It then grew into a wide smile, her teeth glittering and all, and she bounced in her seat again, squealing. "I'm so excited though! We can work on the two of them as soon as you want to. Do you have any ideas?"

I shook my head. "Not yet. We shouldn't start storming ideas yet until Natalie knows that I'm sorry. She won't forgive me, but at least she'll know."

Julia nodded her head. "I understand!"

I nodded my head to her. "Well, thanks for listening to me." I was standing out of my seat, until she grabbed my wrist and stopped me.

"Hey," she said softer. He smile was sweet and sincere. "Thanks for talking to me."

I smiled back at her. "You're welcome. I thought I should go to you."

"I knew there was good in you. I'm just happy that it's finally coming out."

With those few words said, I knew my plan was working. People were starting to see past what the old Sophia once was. She was slowly deteriorating from this island, and people were beginning to see Chelsea. Of course they didn't know I was Chelsea, but it was my personality they were seeing. And they liked it. It was like a test—a test to see if you're truly genuine, natural, and warm. And seeing it through Mark and now through Julia, I knew.

I just needed to get to Natalie, too.

* * *

"Beer?"

"Beer me."

Mark threw a bottle at me and I caught it easily. I was sitting on my bed and he was cleaning up after our dinner. He insisted on it. I popped the cap open and chugged almost half of it. It was Sunday night, back to the beginning of my third week, and Vaughn was coming tomorrow and I told Mark I needed some company. He made his way here with some beer and uncooked pasta, so we cooked and we saved the alcohol last. I laughed and told him he should've brought a wine, but he knew that since I wanted a _drink_, he brought beer because it's a "man's drink". Whatever that meant.

"So," Mark said, walking over and sitting beside me, "you and Julia are friends?"

I shrugged, a weird smile crossing my lips. "I guess you can say that."

"And how'd that happen again?"

I leaned back against the wall. My bed was pressed to the wall, so I was sitting on my bed and leaning back behind me. I took another sip of the beer, taking in that aftertaste that I loved so much. I fiddled with the neck of the bottle as I said, "I decided to take matters into my own hands because I was so sick and done of Sophia's stupid decisions ruining my life here. I'm here for an entire year and I'm not gonna let my sister mess that up. So I apologized for her about messing up _our_ friendship since _I _slept with you."

"Chelsea," Mark couldn't help but chuckle.

I flicked it away. "Oh hush. You know what I mean. It just gets annoying saying "technically" or "Sophia" or "well, my sister" all of the time."

"So, that was it? And now you're friends?" Mark raised a blonde brow at me.

I wasn't going to tell him the plan to get him and Natalie back together. If I did, the plan wouldn't totally go into full force. I played it off as cool as I could. Maybe I couldn't play off as my sister to Mark, but I think it was safe to say that I could pull off some lies around him.

"Yeah, that was it. Like I confessed to all of it and she was so happy that I did," I smiled.

"That's great." He began to take a sip of his beer.

I turned to him. "I also want to apologize to Natalie."

He nearly spit his beer. "What?"

"You heard me." I crossed my arms, a smirk appearing on my face.

Mark started frantically shaking his head. "I don't think that's a good idea."

I narrowed my eyes at him after taking another sip. "And why not?"

"Because!" Mark sighed. "You don't know Natalie. Take it from me. She holds grudges like there's no tomorrow. And this? She'll never forgive you for this."

"I know she won't forgive me," I just barely mumbled. "I don't blame her. I just want her to know I'm sorry."

Mark stared at me. He and I both took another sip of our beers at the same time, still watching each other. I didn't have much of it left, while he still had more than half of the bottle. I sighed, and stared down at my bare toes curled up in the sheets of my bed. I didn't realize the life I was going to live while I was coming here. I didn't realize the name Sophia had created and the life I was now being forced to take part in.

"You could always tell Natalie who you really are," Mark suggested quietly.

My eyes perked up to him. "You mean tell her that I'm actually Chelsea? Her twin?"

He nodded.

"That won't change anything. It'll still make her hate Sophia."

"What difference does that make? When she comes back in a year Sophia will still not care and their hate for each other will come back."

He had a point. Damn.

"I can't rat her out that easy," I sighed. "Taro is her grandfather. Even if she has nothing against me, she has everything against my sister. She'd rat me out just to get her kicked off this island. I can't let her down that easy."

Mark sighed. Because he knew _I_ was right. It was such a complicated concept: portraying as someone you're not. It seemed so simple to begin with, but it's hitting me head on now that this'll probably be the biggest challenge I'll ever come to face.

"I wish this could be easier," I sighed, leaning into him. "I told Julia a few days ago I'd try and talk to her and now—"

I was interrupted with a knock on the door. Mark and I stared at each other, wondering who could've possibly have been here at this time of night. I slowly slipped off my bed, staring at Mark, before finally flicking my head to the door. I approached it cautiously, and when I opened it, I saw a smiling face on the other side. Julia.

"Hey hey!" she smiled, squeezing past me inside.

"Um, hello?" I said with a chuckle. I closed the door and turned around. "What're you doing here?"

"I saw Mark come up here with beer earlier so I thought you were having a party! But I brought my own alcohol, no worries!" Julia giggled, shaking her wine bottle in her hand. Ironic. "Sophia! Gimme some glasses, I'll pour everyone some!"

I went along with it, a smile never leaving my face. I went to the cupboard and tried finding some wine glasses. I opened them going down the line, getting nervous.

"Having trouble?" Julia wondered.

"Yeah I just… forgot," I said, as I finally opened the right cupboard with the wine glasses. I pulled out three and handed them to Julia. She walked over to the counter and began pouring us glasses.

"So what're you guys talking about?!" Julia wondered sweetly, continuing to pour the wine.

Mark stuttered, still dumbfounded on the couch. "Uh, forgive me for being rude," he started, "but did Natalie put you up to this?"

"To what?" Julia turned around, confusion crossing her eyes.

"Um… coming here. Tonight."

"Oh no!" she turned back around. "She's fast asleep right now. And is it so wrong I wanted to have a few drinks?"

Julia came back with the wine glasses, her spunky attitude calming a bit as she continued to talk.

"You know Natalie doesn't drink. And Lanna is like Natalie's dog: whatever Natalie does, Lanna does. So Lanna doesn't drink either when, believe me, when she wasn't following her around, Lanna was _fun_."

We both chuckled a bit, looking at each other.

"So when I saw you"—she pointed at Mark—"come up here with some beer, I figured you guys were throwing a party or something! And I also really wanted to drink. It's been awhile since I've relaxed. And who wants to drink alone?"

We both continued laughing.

"So tell me what you guys are talking about!"

I looked at Mark, his eyes swirling with worry. He didn't want to talk about Natalie to her, clearly. So I nudged him.

"Vaughn!" Mark spit.

"Vaughn?" Julia and I wondered.

Mark then smirked. "Yes, him. Sophia's afraid of him."

Julia grinned over at me, shoving me in the shoulder. She couldn't help but giggle. "You're afraid of Vaughn?"

"He's scary!" I said.

Mark sighed. "He yelled at her because her horse is sick. So now he's going to be at her farm every Monday and Tuesday when he's here to check up on her."

"You live with him!" I looked at Julia. Her eyes widened when my attention hit her. "He doesn't scare you a little bit?"

She shrugged. "Eh. I mean we kinda stay out of each other's way. Of course we talk but it's not much. I usually yell at him if he keeps his clothes in the wash too long." She giggled. "Other than that our interactions don't last very long. He just takes the spare room when he's out in the city."

I sighed. I sluggishly walked over to my bed, and fell on it face first. I mumbled to the sheets, "I don't wanna deal with him tomorrooooow."

"Sophia you'll be _fine_," Mark reassured me. "He's not a serial killer or anything."

I moaned loudly into my sheets again.

"Sophia," Julia laughed, walking over to the bed. "I think you two will get along just fine. He's just… different."

I lifted my head up, and finally adjusted myself on the bed to sit upright. As I was doing that, I asked, "Why does everyone keep saying that?"

Julia raised a brow. "That he's different?"

I nodded.

"Because… well, he is. Something happened in his past that he refuses to tell anyone about. Believe me, my mom and I have tried."

"I-I know," I tried to play it off as if I did know. "Just why won't he tell anyone?"

She shrugged, taking a sip of the wine. "No clue. That's just how he is."

I moaned again, falling face first into the bed. I began to curl up in the covers, my face in my pillow. I heard Julia and Mark laughing behind me as I burrowed myself into my bed.

"Well, Vaughn's going to be here in the morning, so you should get some rest," Mark said with a chuckle behind his words. "Julia and I will take our wine outside while you sleep up for tomorrow."

Julia began laughing too. "Good night sleepy!"

I heard the two exit my home, shutting my lights, letting me drift into a deep sleep.

And that made waking up the next morning difficult.

I woke up to a knock on my door. I groggily opened my eyes, feeling the crust line my eyelids. I rubbed it off as I slithered out of bed, lagging to the door. When I opened it, I saw an angry cowboy on the other side. His arms were crossed and his Stetson was shading his face, except his lips. I saw his lips pursed and frowning.

"Vaughn…?" I wondered sleepily.

"It's 8:30 in the morning."

Suddenly, a burst of adrenaline shot through my system and I was more awake than ever. _I overslept_.

"Oh my Goddess," I gripped the sides of my head. "I'm so sorry. _So so so sorry._"

He shook his head at me. "Don't apologize to me. It's your farm. You should be taking care of it."

I shook my head nodding, "You're right, you're right" as I exited my house and the two of us walked to my farm.

"I'll go look at your animals," Vaughn said. "You handle your crops."

I nodded and began watering all my crops as I watched him disappear into the coop.

_I'm an idiot, _I angrily thought to myself. _He hates me even more now. He thinks I'm so completely irresponsible._

After I finished watering all of my crops, Vaughn was still in the coop. I decided to go check up on him. I cautiously walked in through the entrance, and I saw Vaughn sitting on the dirty floor. He had his legs crossed and all of the chickens were surrounding him, one of them sleeping on his lap. He pet them all, a small smirk on his face. He was at peace. The animals surrounded him as if he were a sort of god or something. I felt jealous; he knew how to treat animals in such a patient and caring manner that they were just drawn to him without any trouble. They found themselves near him with ease because all it took was ten minutes sitting on a floor for his animals to trust him. Maybe there was something about the way I raised my animals that I was doing wrong.

"Vaughn."

He turned his head to me slowly, the smile gone in an instant. He carefully placed the chicken on his lap down in her bed, and the chickens parted from him. He stood up close to me, and I suddenly grew nervous. He had never been this close to me. He was peering down at me, and I could once again see his amethyst eyes. I watched him bite the inside of his cheek.

"How do you do that?" I asked him quietly.

He turned his head back at the coop, and then back down at me, his expression not changing. "I told you. You have to show them that they can trust you, otherwise they won't."

He paused.

"We should go check on Pearl now," he said softer.

I nodded, as he walked past me into the barn. I turned back around, and before I followed him out of the coop, all I began to wonder was what I had gotten myself into.


	6. Chapter 6

I sat in front of my horse as Vaughn fed her more medicine. I watched the at first reaction of disgust, which soon evolved into utter relief after Vaughn pet her like he did last time. It was as if he had a power or something with animals, I couldn't quite explain. I was jealous, though. I wish I could do what he could've done. Maybe he was right about my animals… they didn't trust me. I had to show them that they could. But how could I do it like he could? There was no way they could trust me just by the touch of my fingertips. Only Vaughn had that power.

"Your horse is getting better," he said softly. He didn't turn to face me. "I think she only needs two or three weeks more worth of medicine and she'll be just fine."

"Thank you so much," I said, my legs crossed on the dusty ground. "It means so much to me that you're doing this."

"It's for Pearl," he said sternly. He then mumbled, "Not for you."

I felt an awkward shift in the mood, and it made me feel inferior to him. Again. I looked up to him as he tilted his hat lower down his face: shadowing all of the parts of him I admired most. He hid his beautiful amethyst eyes he made sure weren't seen, his scrunched up nose whenever he was annoyed, and his rosy cheeks whenever he was faced to say something.

How did I know so much about him like that?

My eyes widened, and I shook myself out of the thought. I then saw him turn around to me, and nod his head. I only saw his chin and his jawline. He was about to storm out of the barn, taking that as a goodbye, when I quickly hopped to my feet and reached an arm out to him.

"Wait!" I said.

_What?_

I watched him stop in his tracks, and turned around. I could tell he just wanted to make his way out of here. I mean, he did have to work. The reason he moved from the city to the islands was all for his job. But he still remained when I told him to wait. And so now that he was standing here, and we were looking at each other, I had to talk.

"I…" I sighed. "I really just need someone to talk to. If you're not busy, could you talk to me?"

"Talk to Mark," he spit.

He was ready to turn back around. I grabbed his wrist before he could move again. I felt the muscles in his fist tense up, as he now narrowed his eyes on me. I quickly let go of his wrist in complete fear. The speed in which terror permeated my body was faster than the speed of light, it seemed.

"I can't," I sighed. "I tried."

He sighed. He pressed his fingers in the center of his forehead, closing his eyes and breathing.

"Only if you're not busy!" I said quickly. "If you are, you can forget it."

He shook his head. "I'm not busy."

I smiled slightly. He was willing to talk to me!

"Will this take long?" he wondered.

I shrugged my shoulders. "I wasn't expecting it too."

He nodded. "Alright."

With that, he came back inside the barn, came over to the other side of me, and sat down on the barn floor. I wasn't expecting it. I was expecting him to just talk right then and there, where our feet were planted on the floor. But he came and sat down, so with that, I plopped next to him. Both of us were crisscross on the floor, not exactly facing each other, but still were in vision. And it was nice. It was nice seeing Vaughn under a dimmed lighting, still seeing the spark in his amethyst eyes, and still seeing him. He still scared me out of my boots, though.

"It's about Natalie and me," I started.

He nodded. "Okay."

"You must know everything that has happened between the two of us. I'm assuming?" I stared at him. It's awkward to talk about and I didn't even do it.

He nodded. "I think everyone knows."

I sighed. "I want to apologize to Natalie but I don't know how to go about it. She's not going to forgive me and I know that, but I also want her to know that I truly am sorry."

"Okay."

I stared at him. He was looking at my animals.

"How should I go about doing it?"

He looked over at me now and shrugged his shoulders. "Just do it. There's no other way to."

He was right. I looked down at my hands and fiddled with my fingers. It was like ripping off a Band-Aid, and I couldn't prolong it any longer. I was dragging it out as if it was this huge deal and I just had to come clear with her. I nodded a few times, my eyes dropping and a frown evident on my cheeks.

"Thanks," I said to him, "you're right."

"Sophia," he said softly. "I just don't want to sugar coat it for you. If you want to tell her you're sorry, you just have to do it. If you don't, then whatever you're trying to accomplish won't happen."

I looked up at him again. He was staring right at me. He was looking right through me with his eyes that just seemed so alluring. I wonder if anyone had ever told him he had great eyes. I wouldn't be surprised if they did; they were incredibly unique.

"Thank you," I said more sincere.

"What you did to her was really wrong," Vaughn now said looking out at my animals.

I hung my head. "I know."

There was a silence that fell over us after that. It was for a few minutes. But those few minutes were dreadfully long, while the only sounds that filled the space between us were the horse's shuffling feet and the cow's incessant moos.

"However," he started. I looked at him. "I admire you for wanting to apologize to her. Shows growth."

I couldn't help but expose a grin. He wasn't looking at me and I didn't mind. There were a lot of things people didn't understand about other people. And maybe that was because everyone based life off of first appearances and snap judgments. But sitting here in my barn, only a foot away from the cowboy that made my bones shiver, I realized he wasn't too bad. He was different, definitely. But he wasn't different in the way everyone thought he was. There was a difference to him that made him interesting. And I liked it. I was curious. And I wanted to know more. I wanted to know more about the Vaughn that I was seeing right now. Maybe we could be friends.

* * *

"She's right over there," Julia nudged me. "Just go apologize."

It was later in the week and Julia and I were just walking around. I've been keeping her up to date with everything—one of them being that I had yet to talk to Natalie. She really wanted me to, and I wanted to as well. But I was afraid. She gave me deathly stares and I was truly afraid that one of them was going to pierce right through me. I never actually realized how afraid of everyone I was on this island but I think it's really starting to be evident. Ironic on a place called Sunshine Islands.

"Just go!" she shoved my shoulder. "You'll feel better about it afterwards."

"I know," I whined. "But she's with Lanna. How do I get her alone?"

Julia then smirked. I didn't like her smirk. It was the first time I saw a devilish grin such as that cross her face, and I knew she knew what to do. She told me to wait there, and she skipped before me and approached Natalie and Lanna. There was some smiling and some laughing, and then I saw Julia grip Lanna's wrist, still talking to Natalie. Natalie then was nodding and smiling, as Julia took Lanna away from her. I saw Julia look back at me and stuck a tongue out at me, and before I knew it, Natalie was in the path by herself. Alone.

It was simple now. Julia did her job, and now all I had to do was approach her. But how was I going to do that?

"Natalie!" I belted.

_What did I just do what did I just do __**WHAT DID I JUST DO?**_

I watched her eyes snap over at me, her lips pursing similar to how Vaughn would. Except Vaughn did it to everyone. This was saved especially for me.

I cautiously approached her. Her eyes narrowed on me as we got even closer, and she had her hands on her hips. I was nervous. So incredibly nervous.

"What do you want?" she spit.

I sighed. "I really just want to talk to you."

"So talk," she growled.

She really held grudges like there was no tomorrow.

"I, uh…" I stammered. Her eyes were piercing me. It was happening. "Er…"

"Look, if you have nothing to say, then you're wasting both of our times," she grumbled. "I have to find Julia and Lanna, if you don't mind."

She began to trudge away, before I gripped her wrist and turned her back around to face me. She looked furious.

"Wait," I said. "I'm sorry. About everything."

Her eyebrows rose, as she was now curious. "What?"

"I'm sorry. About last year. About everything that happened last year. I was so wrong to you and I was so wrong to Mark and I didn't mean to do it."

"Yes you did," she snapped. "You did it because you're a _slut_ and you just want to ruin lives. You heartless bitch."

_Holy Goddess, _I thought, her words stabbing my heart. _She _really _hated Sophia. _

"No, I didn't," I sighed. "You can call me those words all you want and I'll take them, I don't care. I just want you to know that I didn't mean to hurt you. I was being selfish and I took advantage of him and…"

"Then why would you go around telling Julia as if she wouldn't tell me?" she snapped again. She got closer to me, and I began to back up, nervous as all hell. "You would only tell Julia to make sure I found out. And why did you want me to find out? Because you _wanted_ me to break up with him so that _you _could have him to yourself. Well congratu-fucking-lations, he's all yours! You can sleep with him whenever the hell you want!"

She pushed past me, shoving my shoulder hard against hers, storming away. I honestly didn't expect her to react the way she did. She never truly forgave Sophia, and she wasn't going to let herself to. I quickly chased after her and grabbed her again. I wasn't letting her get away so easily, not after formally apologizing to her without her screaming and rampaging away.

"Natalie, please just listen to me!" I said.

She finally stopped and turned around. She crossed her arms in front of me and flicked her strawberry blonde hair out of her eyes. They were flaming. I had never seen someone so angry, especially with _me_.

"Fine." She stared at me with disgust.

I sighed. "It's been a year. And within that year, a lot of things have changed about me. Guilt has been eating up at me and I finally realized that I did the worst thing possible to you. And I destroyed a friendship we didn't even allow to happen. I'm not expecting for you and I to become friends now, or for you to even forgive me. But I really just want you to know that I'm sorry. I really truly am sorry."

She stared at me for a few long seconds. Her eyes were eating at me. I never knew a pair of eyes good be more deathly.

"Okay." That was all she said, before she turned around and walked away.

And I let her walk away because there was nothing more that I could do. I made my apology. I told her I wasn't expecting forgiveness. So it's fine that she walked away the way she did. I'm just happy that she finally listened to my words.

The rest of the day I just wondered from Verdure Island to Sprout Island. I didn't talk to many people. It was small talk, but no big conversations. I didn't see Mark nor did I see Julia. And I was okay with that. They would just go on about Natalie and I wasn't totally in the mood. So after a few hours of wandering, I decided to order some food and bring it up to my home. I ordered some chicken from the Diner (I was craving it) and ate it as I was going up to my house. I got some stares from Chen's kid and Gannon's kid and I didn't totally mind it. I stuffed my face with chicken, crossing the bridge onto Ranch Island. My crops looked steady as soon ready to be picked. Maybe tomorrow?

But as I opened the door to my house, I nearly dropped all of my food.

Mark and Julia were inside just hanging out, drinking and watching some foreign channel on my TV. They were laughing hysterically and they turned around and when they saw me, their eyes lit up.

"Sophia!" Julia said running over to me.

She sped over to me and hung herself on my shoulder. She put her head close to mine and nuzzled herself into me. She was giggling, and I looked over at Mark who was rolling on the floor laughing at the television. I walked inside and closed the door, placing down my chicken. I noticed there was a bottle of vodka and some other fruit drinks out. But I looked at the bottle of vodka and it was nearly empty.

"Guys!" I shouted. "You drank the entire bottle?"

"Yep!" Mark laughed. "Lookie!"

He began spinning the remaining drink in the glass. He was about to go for a sip, before I dove for it and placed it on the counter. Julia was about to do the same, so I did the same for her.

"Why are you guys in my house?" I said angrily.

"Well," Mark said, crisscrossing his legs. "Julia and I came here with more alcohol expecting you to be here so we could talk and stuff… but then you weren't here so Julia suggested we should just drink it while we waited for you! And then we just got to talking and drinking and…"

"We just realized how much we have in common!" Julia laughed. "We both like animals and food and reaaaaally good mixed drinks… hehehe…"

I sighed and pulled my hair. I needed to rephrase the question. "Okay. Um. How did you guys get _inside_ my house?"

"Oh!" Julia raised her hand. "Mark knows you keep a spare key under the mat He said that when he slept with you a year ago, you left your key inside and locked yourselves out so you used the one under the mat so you guys could go inside and sleep together and get Natalie really mad."

They were both laughing.

_Oh, boy._

"Julia I keep trying to tell you!" Mark laughed. "That's not Sophia! That's Chelsea!"

My heart dove inside my stomach.

"Right right right right right!" Julia laughed. She got closer to my ear and whispered huskily, "Mark keeps trying to tell me that you're Sophia's twin sister Chelsea. He's so drunk it's ridiculous, I know you don't have a sister!"

She laughed again, falling to the ground beside Mark. They were both laughing and she curled up next to him and kissed his cheek.

"He's really sweet," Julia said, making Mark wrap his arms around her. "Sophia, I think you and him should date."

"He still loves Natalie, remember?" I looked at her.

"Natalie shmatalie!" Julia flicked her wrist. "She's such a sour puss lately. Mark needs to be happy with someone who is happy!"

I shook my head. I didn't know what I was hearing and I didn't want to listen to it anymore. I went down to the floor and laid them both down. I found some extra pillows and gave it to them, and gave them a blanket to lay down on.

"You two need to sleep," I said as I was arranging a bed for them.

"_SLEEP IS FOR THE WEAK!" _Julia shouted in my ear. "_I DO NOT NEED SLEEP AND IT DOES NOT NEED ME!"_

I tucked her in and tried to hush her.

"You're so silly Chelsea," Mark cackled, "why don't you have some fuuuuun with uuuuus."

"If I wanted to, _Mark_," I looked at him, "I couldn't due to the fact that all of the alcohol is gone. So now, you need to sleep. Good night you two!"

They continued to mumble about how sleep is for lame people for a while. They then started to tickle each other for a bit, and they went back and forth kissing each other's noses. I didn't know how to take it, as I was eating my Diner chicken, waiting for at least one of them to pass out first. I tried giving them some of my chicken but they refused any food I gave them. After awhile, they finally drifted to a snooze, and I was overwhelmed and exhausted.

Fortunately Julia was too drunk to realize that Mark was telling the truth. But clearly they were too drunk to care about anything else.

**A/N: Kind of a filler, but there's also some good stuff in here. Thank you for all the new readers! This chapter is kind of lame but thanks for keeping up with me :) **


	7. Chapter 7

I woke up the next morning to find Julia and Mark still passed out. They were curled up in each other's arms, snoozing peacefully. I shook my head and tiptoed past them so I could cook some breakfast. I made a few omelettes, some French toast, and put out bowls of fresh fruit. I loved cooking breakfast foods, and that was all I really knew how to make. I tried cooking the turkey and making the stuffing one thanksgiving, and that didn't go over too well with the folks.

As I was finishing laying everything out on the table, I saw Julia fumble to wake up. She fixed her shirt, which was twisted a little too much to the side. She then adjusted her hair, and when her head flicked to look up at me, she just blinked. She had a glaze over her baby blue eyes, and her lips were glued together due to a heavy sleep.

"Mmmmrf," she mumbled through a closed mouth, before actually finding herself to her feet. She walked over to me and literally fell into the chair, where the breakfast buffet lay in front of her. She didn't even notice it originally: or at least she didn't act like it. She glanced down at the table, and then her eyes lazily looked back up at mine, our blue eyes having a stare down.

"Are… you okay?" I finally managed to say. Her eyelids still looked heavy as (it was obvious) that she was struggling to keep them open. She nodded slowly, breaking the glue between her lips and finally whispered, "I'm fine."

"Want some breakfast?" I wondered nervously.

She brought her hand to her head, rubbing it immensely, before nodding. She reached her other hand out to place some toast on her plate, and then used a fork to jab one of the omelettes and place it in front of her.

"I have a killer hangover," she murmured into her dish.

"I don't blame you," I said, finally sitting across from her. "You and Mark were pretty drunk last night."

"It wasn't _meant_ to happen," she said louder, before stuffing her face with some toast. "We just wanted to have some fun. We didn't mean for it to get messy."

"It's fine," I said reassuringly. "But you told me that _I_ should date Mark, not Natalie. And you kissed his cheek and you kept kissing each other's noses and then you guys were cuddling and I dunno… it got weird."

Her eyes widened a bit, as she frantically shook her head, trying to swallow some toast that she was still trying to chew. "_Nonononono!_" she said. "Who knows what the hell I was thinking. I always say and do silly things when I'm drunk, even things I don't mean. Lanna can vouch for me!"

I stared at her, as she quickly placed half the omelette in her mouth and bit it off, chewing hard. She avoided eye contact with me, which was kind of weird. We sat in an uncomfortably fitted silence, slowly eating our meals and glancing in strange directions to avoid our blue eyes from colliding into view. It was almost peaceful. But I could feel myself fidget under her presence because I knew she was. Finally, however, her baby blue eyes widened excitedly, and she put down the cup of juice she was drinking, waving her hands.

"What?" I looked at her, laughing.

"You know what's coming up this weekend?" she said, an eyebrow pointing toward the ceiling.

I leaned back and crossed my arms with a small smirk on my face. "And what would that be?"

"The fireworks festival!" she cheered.

I glanced at her for a second, confused. I then perked up and said, "Oh, the fireworks festival!"

_What fireworks festival are we talking about here? _I wondered in the back of my mind.

"I was thinking we could start our planning then. Y'know, get them to talk and reconnect again!" Julia jumped in her seat.

Clearly, her hangover was going away.

"How so?" I leaned forward to, diving in for some fruit.

She leaned forward as well, clasping her hands together like a grade school student being obedient to their teacher, waiting direction and instruction. She smiled and her eyes were perky and her attitude was bubbly. "I was thinking that maybe I can invite a bunch of people over to my place for us to y'know, hang out and stuff. I'll get some fun snacks that we can all eat because who doesn't like to eat some pretzels or cheese puffs while they're socializing? Anyways… so we all meet up and whatnot then, and before the fireworks start, we could all walk down to the beach and watch them together. But we'll make sure Mark and Natalie start talking so that they could actually get back on good terms."

I smiled. So it seemed pretty straight forward what this festival was. Sophia never left me any instruction on any of the festivals. There was a calendar that hung beside my bed that told me when every festival was, but I had no clue what they all meant. This was straightforward though. You watch the fireworks with whomever you wanted to. And I liked that. It was personal decision, no little set up where the entire town is involved.

"I _really_ like that idea!" I smiled wide. "I think it'll be great for them. We'll just push them toward each other—I think it could be a great start for them. Or, restart, I should say," I couldn't help but giggle.

Julia giggled too. "Oh, Sophia," Julia smiled widely. "I'm so happy that you want to help them. They were so, _so_ good for each other."

"Thanks," I said softly. "I just want to see Mark happy again."

"And I want to see Natalie happy again," Julia said even softer. "She was never as bitter as she was. The whole thing just… it really just screwed her up. Changed her."

I nodded slowly. I had no idea my sister was capable of so much damage. I knew she was a handful but I did love her. She was a little monster in this quaint little town; like a Godzilla, wrecking havoc on a tranquil little place.

"S—I can't believe I did so much," I hesitated, putting myself back into character.

While I may not have done anything, while I may not be Sophia, while I may not understand why she did the things she did, I felt the pain as if I did something, as if I were Sophia, as if I knew why I did the things she did. I felt like the more I was here, the deeper into her skin I was getting. I was sinking into her bones, feeling her raw emotions, changing it and recreating someone who didn't want to be changed. Was I doing the right thing? Being here, pretending I was someone I wasn't? How I was fooling everyone (but Mark, obviously) that I was my sister was incredible.

"Sophia," she started, not looking at me when I looked up at her. "I'm so happy. With you, that is. You're really… coming through for everyone. You're changing. And this you that you're becoming… I really, _really_ like her."

I smiled at Julia. We weren't friends for long. She was easily trusting. And I liked that about people. It was a gift, really. And I gave her the widest grin when she said those words, a pit forming in my stomach and blush across my cheeks. We sat there, smiling sweetly at each other, and I knew I was creating an impact. And the Chelsea underneath this Sophia shell was grinning and jumping ecstatically for the new lifelong friend she knew she had. And all I kept thinking was _thank you, thank you, thank you. _Thank you for believing in me. Thank you for liking me. Thank you for being so honest with me.

"Welp," she clapped her hands, standing up. "I should get my day started. I'll see you around town? Maybe we can grab some lunch when the time comes. I'll find you, you find me? Okay?" As she began walking towards the door, she approached Mark and kicked his legs. He groaned into the floor, twisting his body so he was facing straight down.

"Wake up!" she said with a smile. She then turned her head back to me. "See you later!" And she was out the door.

"What…" he said, his hair fumbled and messy. His eyes had the same glazed look Julia's had earlier.

"Mark, go to sleep," I laughed.

All he did was nod, and flop back onto the pillow and he was out within a second. And within that second that he passed out, I heard a soft knocking on the door.

I was curious as to who it was. It couldn't have been Julia, right? She literally just walked out of the door. Or maybe it was because she left something behind and she came back for it? Well, sitting in the chair wondering it wasn't going to answer any of my questions. I finally brought myself to my feet, and opened the door, and a familiar face was shadowed on the other side of the doorframe. A shadowed face I wasn't expecting to see.

"Vaughn?" I wondered.

"Can I come in?" he asked immediately.

I stared at him, blinking several times, before I made room for him to enter. "Course," I said, as he pushed past me. He quickly stopped in his tracks when he walked in.

He was staring down beside my bed at the lump that was buried in pillows and heavy blankets.

"Um…" he said, a lingering tone to his voice.

"It's Mark," I said quickly, shutting the door. "He and Julia had a rough night so they both crashed here, but Julia just went back. Mark's still pretty beat, as you can tell."

Vaughn nodded. "So that's where she came from," Vaughn said. He then quickly flicked over to look at the table. "That's a lot of food."

"Oh, do you want some?" I wondered, motioning him toward the table. "I made a bunch and I can always make more. Here! Have an omelette."

He sat down in the seat that Julia was sitting in only minutes prior, and he prepared himself a plate with the food that I set out. I glanced over at Mark, who was still dead asleep. He probably wasn't going to wake up for awhile.

"So why are you here?" I wondered, deciding I wanted some coffee. I walked up and poured myself a cup. I motioned it up, wondering if he wanted any, and he nodded. I poured him a cup too, bringing over cream and sugar for him to do it however he pleased. "Not to be rude, of course. But you only come on Mondays to visit Pearl. And well, it's clear you're not here for Pearl since you asked to come inside. So something must be up."

He just glared at me. I babbled at lot, didn't I?

"It's nothing much," he said, fiddling with the fruit he placed on the plate. "I just… never mind."

"Vaughn, what is it? I want to know."

He sighed. "Coming here was stupid," he mumbled.

"Stop it," I said. I looked at him. "Please talk to me."

"You don't need to know. I don't know why I came here."

I sighed and I nodded. "Okay, you don't have to tell me."

"It's something you wouldn't understand anyways."

I looked at him and that was when Julia's words from before really hit me hard. Maybe not with Julia, but with the cowboy that sat in a scowl before me.

_She was never as bitter as she was. The whole thing just… it really just screwed her up. Changed her._

Maybe with Vaughn before me, sitting with one arm playing with the fork in his hand and the other in his lap, with his Stetson hat almost pointing straight to the ground, with the spur clinking as he tapped his heel against the wood of my floor, I realized something. He was different, yes, as everyone said. And he was different, yes, as _I_ had said. But maybe there was more to it, a deeper meaning to his difference. What if it was his past? Something that created him into the sheltered man that he is. Similar to how Sophia's deeds created a bitter Natalie; maybe something happened to Vaughn that made him so closed. It changed him. Whatever happened back then, maybe he was eight, maybe he was thirteen, maybe he was nineteen, or even twenty-four. He could've been any age at any time, who would've known. Nobody knows on this island but him. And maybe that was the game to this all. He was screwed up and something changed him.

That was the prediction, at least. I couldn't be sure I was right. But it was a strong confidence. No one is born closed in. No one is raised to be bitter. Something must've _happened_ that created this.

Maybe I was thinking too deeply into the whole concept. As anyone else on Sunshine Islands might say, it's just _Vaughn. _But that could also be the problem here. People see his attitude and they immediately draw themselves away from him. They refuse to take any part in him because they don't like what they see. But that's what's wrong. People don't try to dig deeper into someone who may have the potential to be so much more than what the world had created them into. He was screwed up and something changed him, and while he may not have said anything, I was completely certain. And I was determined to figure it out. While he sat across from me, playing with the fruit on his plate, tapping his heels against my floorboards, I made it something I wanted to do; I wanted to know Vaughn. I wanted to reach in and find the man that he once was. I wanted to find his past and make him change. Because no one deserves to be bitter. And no one deserves to feel alone.

* * *

"So who's going to be there on the festival day?" I wondered, as Julia and I split a dish at the Café on Sprout Island. I realized how often I didn't come to Sprout Island. It was such a quaint little chain to Verdure Island. Regis had a beautiful mansion, as well as a very pretty daughter. The boat that rested at the dock was large and massive, and there was an attractive prince that resided as well. I had to pull out Sophia's little guide to give me the names of these people, including the fisherman who you could easily find right outside his house, trying to catch the fish of the day.

"I kind of want to invite all of the people around our age, try and bring everyone together!" Julia said. "I feel like there's so many people I haven't seen in so long. Like Shea. Oh man, I miss him. He's so cute!"

I laughed at her. _WHO WAS SHEA? QUICK—WHERE'S THE GUIDE?_

"So I figured, hey, why not invite everyone? We could all reconnect with people we've been avoiding. And you can talk to everyone more. When was the last time you really had a conversation with Denny? That poor guy! He's so sweet. When he's going to ask out Lanna, I'll never know." She giggled. "So the fireworks go off at around seven, so I figured we get everyone at my house at four, and then a quarter to seven we could all walk down to the beach and hang out some more then, watch some fireworks, and have a good time. Sound good?"

"Sounds great!" I said immediately. "You're the ultimate party planner."

"I know, right?" Julia then leaned in closer. "Next time, we're getting everyone over for a party."

I laughed. I never knew how much of an animal she was. Maybe Natalie's restraints made her crave it more, who knew. Sophia didn't describe her that way, that was for sure.

"Where's Mark, by the way?" Julia wondered, taking a bite.

I couldn't help but chuckle. "Well, he woke up over an hour after you did, and he finished whatever was left." For some reason, I didn't tell her about Vaughn's stop. I didn't want to.

"Ridiculous," she laughed. "That's so like him."

"Well, you guys drank a lot last night," I laughed as well.

Julia shrugged. But her eyes quickly locked on the door behind me, nearly frozen in place. I stared at her, too afraid to look at the door.

"What?" I wondered in a hushed tone. "Julia. What—"

"Hello," Natalie's voice hung over us as she approached the table. We both slowly turned our heads up at her, as she looked down at us. We saw Lanna's being a wallflower in the background, her green dress and flashy blonde hair blending into the wall décor.

"Hi Nat," Julia said, smiling up at her. "Care to join us?"

"Not… really," Natalie retorted. She turned her head to me. "Sophia."

"Hey Natalie," I said sweetly. I paused for a second, before I said, "Are you sure you don't want to join us? We have a lot of food here."

She shook her head. "I said no already."

"Nat, look—" Julia was quickly cut off by Natalie's glare and her voice piercing into my chest.

"Sophia, I don't know what you're up to but I don't like it. This isn't… this isn't _you._ This isn't you're personality. Julia and I always talked about you. We always said how much we didn't like you, and how much better off the islands would be if you weren't here. We _all_ talked about you and how much you ruined this place, and how your farm was nothing like we expected. You were the rancher that nobody wanted; you created a farm that was dead. And now you suddenly care about everything? Suddenly the crops, the animals, and the relationships you have with everyone on this island suddenly _matters_ to you?"

I blinked at her, as her eyes bored deeply into mine. I felt my bones shake under her glare.

"There's something wrong here," she whispered coldly at me. "I don't understand it. I don't get it at all. But something is so, so wrong. People don't just _change_ under a new light. It doesn't happen. I won't believe it. Because you, Sophia, you're a cold, dark, awful person. And awful people don't just suddenly love the world and everything in it. That's not _you._ You're too much of a bitch to change like that."

With that, Natalie gave me a last glare, and stormed out of the Café. I almost thought she had gotten me. I felt my body sink into the floor, the embarrassment and grief. As she lectured me, I felt the harsh words come from everyone.

_So you're a fraud._

_Your sister just really doesn't care about anything, does she?_

_You're just as devious as she is._

_Just leave, we never want to see you or your sister again. _

They were awful thoughts, really. But as she stormed away from Julia and I, I felt the weight being lifted from my shoulders. My chest rose from the floor, my body reawakened and the shivering in my blood had finally dissipated.

"I'm so sorry about her," Julia apologized sincerely. "Look, I know she doesn't think that about you. But I do. And I'm so happy you are the way you are now. It gives me a new sense of hope for people."

As I stared at her, she gave me a reassuring smile.

"So thanks for that."

And I couldn't help but feel guilt strike me across the heart.


	8. Chapter 8

It was Saturday, Summer 26, and it was the Fireworks Festival.

I had already tended for my crops and my animals for the day, showing all of my animals the most amount of love I could give before it would be considered smothering to death. I bid them farewell as I began to patrol the paved sidewalks of Sunshine Islands, giving everyone happy smiles. I had myself a small lunch because I was prepared to eat a lot of food at Julia's later that afternoon. It was nearing two o'clock when I ran into Mark along the beach of Verdure Island. He was standing between the divide of the grass and the sand, where his toes were dipped into the warm sand, while his heels rested along the soft embedded grass. He had his hands far in his pockets, and a far-off look in his eyes. When I approached his side, he didn't even look at me. I was puzzled, definitely. I waved at him a bit and there was still no movement.

"Mark?" I wondered. "Are you okay?"

"Chels," he sighed, immediately after I spoke. "I'm not going to Julia's tonight."

I felt my heart fall deep into my stomach. I almost grew angry when I said, "Why not?"

"Because. I don't think I can handle being there."

I softened my eyes on the outline of his face. He still wouldn't look at me. I put my hand on his shoulder. "Because of…"

"Natalie?" his eyebrows raised, a sarcastic grin planted on his face. "Yeah, that'd be it."

"Don't think about it like that," I sighed. "Look, there's going to be so many people there. Julia invited everyone around our age. Which also is a lot of people _I_ don't know."

Mark finally looked over at me. I stared up at him with puppy dog eyes, and placed my chin on my hand on his shoulder.

"You and Julia are my two only friends."

"What about Vaughn?" he couldn't help but grin.

I stuck my tongue out at him, squinting my eyes a bit. "Vaughn doesn't count., and he isn't even here. I don't know what he is."

He looked at me, with wider eyes and a confused look swirling in his eyes.

"You know what I mean."

He looked back out at the ocean in front of him. I leaned even more on his shoulder.

"But Mark, listen to me. I really technically only know you and Julia. Vaughn and I just meet once a week. And Natalie absolutely hates me."

"Sophia. She hates Sophia."

"Mark!" I almost shouted. "I really hate when you do that."

"Sorry, " he sighed. "Continue."

I took in a breath and finished. "I only know you and Julia, Vaughn and I just talk, and Natalie doesn't like me. That's really only… two and a half people. Do you know how many other people are coming? Do you know how many _names_ I'm gonna have to learn in such a short amount of time?"

I noticed a small smirk on his face. I looked up at him with big eyes.

"Fine," he sighed, "just for you."

"Yay!" I cheered, and pulled him into a hug. "Thank you!"

He looked down at me and shook his head, rolling his eyes. "You're lucky you're not your sister."

"Yadda yadda yadda," I babbled. "I'm gonna go up to Julia's and see if she needs help setting up."

He nodded at me, not moving at all. With that, I gave him a pat on his shoulder, and turned back around.

I made my way up the path to Mirabelle's shop. Once I arrived, I opened the door and I found Mirabelle standing there on the other side of the counter, looking as if she were finishing up her day. Julia was not yet in sight. I looked at Mirabelle, and gave her a smile, and she flashed a smaller one in return. She still was uneasy about me. It was obvious.

"Oh, hello, Sophia," she said sweetly.

"Hi Mirabelle," I said with a genuine tone. "Are you going to be here with us tonight?"

"Oh, no," she laughed. "I'm going to be with Felicia. I watch it with her and Taro every year."

"That's so sweet," I said. "I hope you have a really nice time tonight!"

Her grin went from small to just a tad bit bigger. "Thank you, Sophia. Are you looking for Julia?"

"Yeah, I was hoping to help her out before our little shindig starts tonight."

Mirabelle giggled. Probably because I used the word "shindig". I giggled a bit in my head, too, because I wasn't expecting that word to pop out of my mouth. Mirabelle turned the corner around the counter, and was making her way past me. She said, "Julia should be coming back. She's mopping and dusting the entire house! Crazy girl. I'll see you."

"Bye Mirabelle," I said, as she walked past me and out the door.

And within that moment, Julia appeared through the entrance and she smiled wide as I appeared through the door. "You're here!"

"I am here!" I said with a smile. "Do you need help?"

"I do! Can you please help me put up some streamers and maybe blow up some balloons? I'm just mopping the floors, so be careful, okay?"

"I will. I just need to use the bathroom first."

"No problem. You know where it is."

I walked past her as she continued to viciously mop the wooden floors. She was truly determined to get this place spotless for tonight. I walked into the corridor and looked all the way down at the end of the hall.

The door was closed, but not entirely. A light was stretching out from underneath and the cracked corner. It was Vaughn's room, I knew that. But today was Saturday. He wasn't here on Saturdays. Or, he wasn't _supposed_ to be here on Saturdays. I stared at the slightly opened door, and approached it, as if the beams of light were calling to me on the other side.

I walked toward the door with caution. I tried peeking through the cracks on the side carefully, trying not to make any sudden sounds…

Within an instant, the door flung open. My eyes were now level with Vaughn's bare chest. I sucked in air as I slowly lifted my head, my eyes now matching with his amethyst ones. It was an interesting angle to look at them from. But from here, they looked beautiful. It was strangely wonderful. They were dimmed from under his hat, yet I could see the glassy color circle is pupil. It was absolutely breathtaking.

"Um." I adjusted myself by backing up so I wasn't staring at Vaughn's pecs. "Sorry."

"What do you think you're doing?" he hissed.

"I… uh…" I was stammering. All of the words that I have ever learned just escaped from me.

"It's rude to peek."

"I didn't mean to…!" His well toned body before me distracted me.

"Then what the _hell_ were you doing?"

"I… I'm just confused."

I looked at me strangely. "About?"

"It's Saturday! And… no offense, but aren't you not supposed to be here on Saturdays? Aren't you in the city or something?"

He nodded, lifting his Stetson for the first time, making his eyes more visible. He's never done that before with me. It was interesting.

"I'm always here on festivals like that. Julia makes me stay. Fireworks festival, New Years, and other big ones like that. My boss is really understanding about wanting to spend time with "family" so he lets me off for the day."

"Oh, I see." I smiled a little bit, but then thought back to one of the words he said. I furrowed my eyebrows and said with a small smile, "Family? I didn't think you were related to Mirabelle and Julia."

"I'm not. "

"But you just said…"

"As long as my boss thinks they're family, it gives me a place to stay when I'm not out in the city working for him."

"Why don't you actually stay with family instead?" I wondered curiously.

He didn't respond though. He stared at me, hard and long, his beautiful amethyst eyes piercing deep into me, penetrating deep within my core. I felt his stare all throughout me. I felt it permeate my body, my veins, and my bones. I shivered under his glare.

"Hey Sophia, what're—" her voice cut short, and I turned to her to find an eyebrow up. I stepped back, and accidently bumped into Vaughn's bare body, feeling his warm skin brush against my shoulders and back. He quickly put his hands on my arms, and lightly pushed me back into place. I was clearly not focusing right.

Julia rolled her eyes and groaned. "_Vaughn_, can you _please_ put a shirt on?"

He shrugged. "I didn't think we had company."

"We're going to have company here in less than an hour!" she screamed. "So please put on some clothes and get out here and help out."

"Yeah, _Vaughn_," I stuck my tongue out at him. He just threw me a glare, and for once, I embraced it.

"Hey!" Julia said, putting my attention back on her. "_You_ said you had to pee. Did you go?"

"Uh… no?" I smiled half-heartedly.

"Pee already and help me put up streamers!" she said, stomping away.

I couldn't help but chuckle. As I was about to crack a joke at Vaughn, I turned around and he was gone. His once slightly opened room was now completely shut, the only light peeking through on the bottom. I stared at his door for a few seconds, looking at the wooden texture; the dark, murky gray paint splashed over it, and just thought about what really was on the other side. Trying not to think too deep, I just shook myself out of it and went into the bathroom.

It was the first time I felt warm to Vaughn. His glare didn't affect me.

And Mirabelle and Julia weren't his family. But what was?

* * *

It was 4:20, and that was when Will and Sabrina stepped through the door to start the party.

Vaughn refused to leave the room until people came, so once they arrived Julia went to go fetch him from his bedroom. That left me with Will and Sabrina almost awkwardly standing in a triangle in the center of the home.

"Hello!" I said sweetly. I haven't talked to them at all since I've lived here, and to be honest, I didn't know exactly where Sophia stood with them. Their only descriptions were:

_Will: likes to mine, lives on that ship on Sprout Island. Cousins with Sabrina. We made out once on his boat. (Really good kisser!) _

_Sabrina: lives in that really nice mansion with her vampire dad Regis. No clue what she likes, we've never talked. _

She probably had no opinion of Sabrina due to the fact they have never spoken. But I really didn't know if she and Will were on okay terms. Why did they make out? Was it a dare? Was it just a "wing it" kind of thing? I didn't know what to expect of her. She was an animal.

"We haven't talked in awhile, Sophia," he said, taking my hand and kissing it.

_Holy Goddess. _

"Uh… hi, Will," I smiled. I turned over and looked at Sabrina. "It's nice to see you, Sabrina."

"You too, Sophia," she said in a soft, shy voice.

Julia and Vaughn came back into the room, Julia gripping Vaughn's wrist. He had a look of disinterest across his face.

"Let's have some fun!" Julia cheered.

Within the hour, everyone was here.

Mark arrived with Denny and Pierre. Shea then came and I got to speak with him and he was absolutely delightful and made my heart warm. Elliot walked in two minutes after Shea. Lily, Witch Princess, and Alisa then strolled in. They didn't come together, but they walked in at the same time. Witch Princess had a personality that would definitely clash with Sophia, but (after quickly checking my guide) Sophia said they never met so she knew nothing about her. It was the same with Alisa. But Alisa was sweet. Lily and Sophia were not on good terms, so she pretty much avoided me. Finally, Natalie and Lanna walked in, Lanna behind her but excited and jumping up and down, while Natalie walked in with a grumpy look across her cheeks.

At this point, I was drinking a bit and I was a little tipsy. I walked up to Mark and hit him on the shoulder. He was hanging out with Denny. I smiled at him and he smiled back, really genuine and sincere. It was strange, but maybe Mark put in a good word about me.

"Hey, Natalie's here," I said.

Music was playing softly in the background. It was easy to talk without other people hearing or eavesdropping.

"She doesn't look happy," Denny said. "Looks like she's got a lot of guards down if you ask me."

"Guards _down_?" Mark furrowed his eyebrows and practically laughed. "She's got every guard _up_. Especially for me." He then hit me on the shoulder. "And this one."

"Ah, Sophia Sophia Sophia," Denny shook his head at me. "You're a naughty one."

"Let's not go down that path," I groaned. "It was a dark time for me. Mark and I are past it, right?"

I looked up at him.

He nodded. "Right."

"Uuuuugh," Denny groaned loudly, rolling his eyes along as his head on his neck. "If you two end up doing it again, I swear to fucking Goddess—"

"We're not." Mark said flatly.

"I'm a changed gal!" I said, slapping his chest. "I'm fun and quirky now."

"Oh, changed?" Denny wondered. "No girl just changes in the blink of an eye. We all know how you are, Sophia. You were fun and quirky, but my oh my, were you sly as hell."

I shook my head. "After realizing how wrong I was I'm trying to become a better person. So why don't you just _accept it_ instead of being a bum about it!"

Mark stared between us. "Am I in the middle of this conversation?"

"Yes. Now run along," Denny shooed him away.

"Wow, thanks man," Mark grumbled, as he stepped out.

Denny scooted closer to me and whispered in my ear, "Julia told me your plan. I think it's really awesome of you that you want to help them get back together."

I smiled up at him. I didn't know him too well at all, but tonight was really helping me get to know him. I grinned wide and said, "Thanks!"

Within that second, Julia ran over and leeched onto my shoulder. I felt her fingers grip deeply into my skin. Beside her was Elliot. He clearly loved following her around. Elliot was sweet, as Sophia wrote in her guide, but he acted very dorky. That was completely _not _my sister. I smiled at him, and he smiled back at him just as wide.

"Alright. Sophia, I hope you don't mind, but Denny and Elliot know our plan."

I nodded with a grin. "Totally okay with that!"

She giggled. "Yay! Okay, ready team? Mission push Mark and Natalie together. All in?"

"Can we have codenames?" Denny wondered excitedly.

"We don't even have walkie-talkies or something to _use_ the codenames," I looked at him.

"Whatever. I want to be the Falcon."

"I'll be Boots!" Julia squeaked.

I rolled my eyes with a laugh.

"I'll be Skippy, I suppose…" I said hesitantly. It was my old dog's name.

"What should I be?" Elliot wondered.

We all looked at each other, and said together, "Bookworm."

He narrowed his eyes on all of us, and we all started laughing.

"Okay, everyone ready?" Julia wondered. "Elliot and I will obviously handle Natalie. Denny and Sophia will handle Mark. Everyone, break out!"

Denny and I moved our separate ways from Julia and Elliot. I looked at Denny as we tried to find our way through the crowd for Mark.

"Denny, where—"

"Eh _hem?_" he interrupted me.

I rolled my eyes. "_Falcon_… where do you think our target is?"

"Found him."

We looked as he was just stepping out of the bathroom. We stared at each other mischievously, nodded, and made our way to the target.

"Hey, Mark!" Denny said, grabbing his left arm. I grabbed his right.

"Uh, what are you two doing?" Mark widened his eyes.

He stared at me and mouthed, _Chelsea what is up? _

I just grinned back, as we moved in a swift motion to the middle of the room, where Elliot and Julia's backs were facing us, side by side.

"Oh, hello there!" Denny and I said at the same time.

Julia and Elliot twisted around at the same time, both of them smiling wide.

"Hi!" Julia said. "Wow, I'm thirsty. You guys wanna get some drinks?"

"That'd be awesome!" I said back.

"Let's go!" Denny said.

We all began to walk away, and Mark was ready to follow.

"You stay here." Denny pat his shoulder, looked right in front of him, and then walked with the rest of us.

I turned around, and there Mark and Natalie were, staring straight at each other, eye to eye, a circle of people swimming around them.

It was the two of them alone, by themselves, taking in the world how it was. I watched their awkward shuffles across the floor. Natalie looked as if she was trying to recapture her breath, while Mark looked as if he were frozen to the floor. They looked paralyzed. It looked as if neither of them wanted to be there, yet neither of them could make themselves move. It was as if they were magnetized to one another. I wondered if old memories were flooding back. Maybe old feelings were flushing back, all in that instant. Or maybe it was just torture.

"Do you think this was the right way of going about this?" Elliot wondered, as we all held a beer and stared at them.

"Nope," Julia responded, "but this is probably the most social interaction they've had in a year. So we're doing something right."


	9. Chapter 9

We watched as they stood in front of each other for a long time, their mouths slightly agape and their eyes frozen and hollow. I looked back at my new "team" and we all had that same fearful, yet hopeful, look across our eyes. That fear quickly dissipated when we saw Mark exchange a hello, and she returned it. The raging fire in her eyes seemed to dim a bit, and they awkwardly found themselves talking.

"Phew!" Julia sighed. "I thought she was gonna pounce on him or something."

"Goddess, but look how awkward they look," Denny pointed out.

We looked at them again and they were fidgeting and clumsy and funny. The conversation was clearly filled with a few words and not much more after that.

"Natalie is definitely going to crack first," I said amongst them.

"What?" Denny looked at me.

I sighed. "Look at them! They're so painfully stiff. They obviously have so many feelings for each other still."

"So… what do you mean she's going to "crack" first?" Elliot wondered.

"One of them is bound to kiss the other first. My bet is Natalie."

"Are you kidding?" Julia looked at me. "Natalie is a rock. Mark is definitely going to kiss her first."

"But Natalie is vulnerable," Denny pointed. "Look! She can crack any second. I'm with Sophia; my bet is on Natalie."

"You clearly don't know my sister," Elliot said. "She won't cave in even if the world were ending."

"Mark can't make a first move even if his life depended on it," I said, looking at them. I let a little hint of Sophia come out as I said, "_Trust me_."

"Is it a bet, then?" Denny faced Julia and Elliot. "If Mark kisses Natalie first, Sophia and I will do something for you. If Natalie kisses Mark first, you two have to do something for _us._"

Denny was grinning mischievously. I really didn't know Denny too well. Sophia and him probably conversed on the islands but it was never much as she made it to seem. All she said was that he had a talking bird on his shoulder, who I haven't heard from once, ironically. His name was Popper. But there was already something about Denny I enjoyed. We shared a similar personality—we being Denny and Chelsea—and it sparked an interest in me. I could see us further along talking more. Plus, he seemed really close to Mark. So as long as I'm with Mark, and Denny tags along, there will be no issues. It looked as if all of the Sophia and Mark stuff he left behind; he actually makes jokes about it. He's probably the only one on the island to. Elliot has talked to me but I could tell obviously that it's feigned and shifty. I didn't mind it though. Elliot seemed sweet and well, Natalie _was_ his sister. Maybe he'll like me more now that I'm trying to help the two of them out. Who knows?

"Deal!" Julia jumped, shaking Denny's hand. "Boots and the Bookworm versus the Falcon and Skippy!"

These codenames were already getting a tad out of hand.

A fun song came on the playlist and Julia got excited. She looked over at Elliot and said, "Come dance with me!" and pulled him toward the floor.

Denny and I were left alone. I looked out into the crowd and Mark and Natalie were gone. I know he noticed the same thing, when we both angrily sighed at the same time. We looked up at each other.

"We may as well sit and talk for a bit, what do you say?" Denny grinned at me.

I shrugged. "May as well."

We walked over to a set of two chairs sitting along the wall. I crossed my legs and looked at him. I sought out for Mark and Natalie for a bit, but soon the crowd of people just blended together.

"We don't talk much, do we?" I looked at him.

He shook his head.

"Enlighten me on something," I asked, trying to spark conversation _and_ learn about Sophia and Denny's history in the most nonchalant way possible, "why don't we totally talk?"

Denny sighed with a smile, as if he easily knew the answer to this question. He found himself uncomfortably laughing to himself, looking down at his shoes. He rubbed his chin a bit and looked back at me.

"I mean, for starters, we never talked. Not often, at least. And it wasn't because I didn't think you were cool. You just… never sparked me as my type to hang out with, you feel? And well, you know Mark's my best friend. After _that_ scandal…"

"Stop there." I interrupted. "I can already tell where the story's going. No need to continue."

"I really didn't mean anything… it was just…"

"Denny," I sighed. "My past has made a mark on everyone here. It's okay."

"Sophia," he said sadly.

"No hard feelings. I was serious when I said I was trying out this new thing with being nice to people. I'm tired of treating people so wrong."

A small smile appeared on the tan boy's face. He was a pretty attractive guy, actually. "That's really cool of you, Soph."

"Soph! Soph!" Popper cooed on Denny's shoulder.

I couldn't help but laugh. That was the first time I ever heard that bird say a sound and it was the cutest thing I had ever heard.

"You have a really nice laugh," he said smoothly.

"Really?" I perked an eyebrow.

"Yeah!" he said happily. "It's nice actually getting to sit down and talk to you—er, or this new you, I guess you would say. It's pretty awesome. _You're _pretty awesome, I should say."

I pushed Denny's shoulder playfully. "You're a huge sweetheart."

"Hey!" we heard a familiar voice shout in our direction.

Denny and I looked up to see an infuriated Mark approaching us. I felt my heart hammer into my chest, something exploding, and an uncomfortable feeling spread throughout my chest. I didn't want him over here. He looked really angry. I quickly snapped my head to Denny, whose face read a similar emotion. I could tell by his eyes. However, his cheeks, his grin, and his overall look looked a lot calmer than mine. If anything, I made it obvious I was slightly terrified of the Mark trudging the ground toward us.

"What the _fuck_ was that about?" Mark peered down over us.

"I'm not quite sure what you're talking about, man," Denny leaned back in his chair, calm, cool, and collected.

"_That! _Over_ there!_" he pointed to the center of the room, where he and Natalie were planted not many moments ago.

"We just wanted to chill with you in the dance floor, not my fault Natalie happened to be there too."

"You two left me there. Why—_when_ did you two start talking?" he wondered curiously. He looked at me.

I shrugged, finally putting on a comfortable smile. "Just tonight. Why didn't you have me talk with Denny sooner? He's really nice and we're getting along famously."

I smirked as Mark tried to relax himself. He sighed, falling in the chair beside Denny. Denny looked over at his best friend, who looked still angry, but also mentally exhausted. Did it really take that much of a toll on him? I slouched in the chair, his eyes fixed on the ceiling above him. There was something about Natalie that definitely changed him. It didn't look very positive at the moment, but I believe that was just due to the fact that they were in a very bad place at the moment. They just needed time to realize how great they are for each other again. Julia saw it. Denny saw it. Elliot saw it. Mark's closest friends and Natalie's closest friend and brother were all on the same page. It was Sophia's stupid doing that messed it up. And even though Sophia didn't want to fix it, I was taking this matter into my own hands. I'm going to fix all of her mistakes. I hated knowing she left this island in a place that was bad for everyone. I was going to make this better for everyone here.

Sunshine Islands needs a Chelsea to turn things around.

"Che—Sophia!" Mark adjusted himself.

I stared at him wide-eyed.

"Huh?" Denny blinked at him.

"Nothing, I just mixed up her name by accident," Mark feigned a laugh.

"He always does that, idiot," I stuck a tongue out at him and gave him a very serious look. "Anyways, what do you want?"

"A beer?" he wondered pleadingly.

I sighed. He looked at me with large blue eyes.

"Make that two?" Denny wondered with a small smirk.

I popped out of my seat, nodding at them, giving them a few "yeah, yeah, yeah's" and made my way toward the alcohol table. Most people were around the dance floor or lined against the walls, making conversation. I saw Will and Lily dancing, Julia and Elliot still at it, even Natalie and Lanna. Alisa stood with Shea but they weren't exactly dancing. Other than them, everyone else remained against the walls. I went to the alcohol table, and was about to pick up two bottles of beer when I noticed a familiar figure literally standing in the corner admiring it all.

I completely forgot that Vaughn was here until I saw him lounging against the corner of the room, holding a rather nice glass filled with red wine. He had his hat dipped down pointing to the wooden floor, as always. I watched his chest rise and fall to the beat of the music, an indifferent frown on his face. His free arm was crossed against his chest. It was obvious he didn't want to be here, he was just sucking it up for Julia's case. It was obvious he cared about her. They weren't true family, which I kind of got from him. But he still made an effort to make her and Mirabelle happy. He had a heart somewhere underneath all of that masked identity of his.

Even though he didn't want to be here, I couldn't just let him stand there. Maybe if I talked to him, this party would be a bit more enjoyable…

I doubt he even wanted to talk to me, though. I was just the farmer girl who let her horse get sick. He only talked to me every week to make sure I wasn't killing any of my other animals. But he looked so lonely. He looked so isolated in his corner, no one even attempting to pick at him. He was like a statue, yet also a shadow amongst the crowd. He was used to blending. Even with silver hair, purple eyes, and a cowboy getup, all he wanted to do was sink in with the floors and walls and not have anyone bother him. But I could see him. In his shaded presence, I saw him from across the room. And I decided at that moment I was going to make my effort and talk with him.

I crossed the room with caution. It wasn't often where I willingly decided I'd talk to Vaughn. He still had me shake in my boots. He was brisk and impolite and stern and cold. But, as I continue to see, there was more than his solid exterior. I wanted to know more. While it was my job on this island to preserve Sophia's farm, to create a sense of friendship back, and to make Mark and Natalie happy again, I gave myself another thing on my to-do list: _Vaughn_.

That was it. Just _Vaughn_. There was something larger behind him than anyone else on this island. And I just _needed_ to know. I refused to leave this island without truly seeing past his shaded, amethyst eyes. And I had a year to figure it out.

"Vaughn," I said, approaching him.

His eyes perked up, a look of surprise and confusion swirling inside of them. He lifted his head to get a better look at me.

"Sophia?" he questioned back.

"You looked lonely."

Now his eyes narrowed in on mine. "What excuse is that to come bother me?"

"I just thought I should talk to you. So this entire party wasn't a total bore for you, just standing in a corner and all."

"That's thoughtful of you, but it's not necessary."

"Well, that sucks." I stood next to him, leaning on the wall. "Now I'm here."

He sighed, squeezing the bridge of his nose. He then took a gulp of the wine in front of him, and looked over at me. "You're wasting your time."

"I want you to talk to me," I said. "What you were saying earlier is what I want to talk about."

"I don't know what you're talking about." His eyes were fixed on the wine glass in front of him.

"Yes, you do," I sighed. "It was about your family."

"That's none of your business."

"Vaughn," I whined.

His eyes snapped to me. "It's not," he hissed through clenched teeth.

"I just want to know."

"Just because you're _curious_ doesn't give me any right to tell you all about it."

I didn't know what to say. Luckily, I didn't have to say anything. I looked to see Julia in the opposite corner of the room, standing on a chair; her head peeked above everyone else's. Vaughn and I both looked up to her, as well as everyone else, when she made a loud whistling sound with her fingers. Someone dimmed the music, and Julia cupped her hands around her mouth, ready to shout.

"It's getting close to time! We're gonna head down to the beach!"

Everyone began filing out of the shop, Julia leading the pack. Vaughn didn't budge. I looked over at him curiously, and poked his arm. He tightened due to the touch. _Whoops_.

"Why aren't you moving?" I wondered.

"Why aren't _you_?" he retaliated. "Everyone's leaving."

"You're not."

"This isn't exactly my thing."

I narrowed my eyes on him now. "You stay here rather than go to work in the city, yet you won't even celebrate the festival?"

"Nope."

"That doesn't make sense!"

"I just don't go. It's simple."

"Then why don't you just work on festival days?"

"I never said I _loved_ having the job in the city. I'll take the day off when I can."

I crossed my arms. "I think you should come."

"No."

"Vaughn!" I whined again. "C'mon. You miss this day off of work _every year_, and yet you never actually watch the fireworks. That's all you have to do is look at them! And then you never have to go again. Just go this one year. Please?"

He stared at me long and hard. Before I could realize, the room was completely empty and silent. Everyone had left already. It was just the two of us, practically crammed against the corner of the vacant room. His eyes bored deep into mine, my blue orbs reacting with a sense of hope and plea. Maybe I could get to know him better. That was my plan, at least. There was something about Vaughn that really made him different.

He finished his glass of wine, practically keeping me on a chord on the edge of a cliff. The clock was ticking. The room was empty. We still stood, shoulder to shoulder, in the corner in the back of the room. He sighed, staring down at the points of his boots. He looked up at me again and mumbled, "Fine."

"Really?" I squeaked.

"Yeah," he sighed.

"That's so exciting!" I said.

He sighed loudly, but I couldn't even care. I began heading for the door with the cowboy at my tail. I opened the door, and I saw the herd of the others almost down to the beach already. I turned around to Vaughn, his hat already covering his head.

"They're already there, we have to hurry!" I said.

"I'm in no rush."

I decided to go at his pace. He seemed content with me walking by his side, which was (I guess) pretty unusual for the both of us. But I enjoyed his company, in the strangest way possible. It was a silent walk down the path. He kept his hands dug to the bottom of his pants pockets, his hat pointing downward, along with his head. I glanced at him from time to time, looking at the silhouette of his jawline, the swift movement of his feet, and listened to the _click clack_ of the spurs on his shoes. He was interesting.

"Cheer up, cowboy," I nudged his arm. "It'll be fun. Promise."

He scoffed at me, which startled me more than it should have. We kept walking in silence still, side by side, with no more interruptions after that.

We arrived at the beach to find everyone else sitting down already. They were spread out, in small groups, in a straight line, laying down, sitting up. Everyone took off their shoes and had their toes squished in the sand, small laughter rising into the air and filling the barren night. It was peaceful just to watch everyone.

"Hey!" I heard Julia call over everyone.

I turned to her, and surprisingly, no one else seemed to turn his or her direction toward her or us. They stayed in their own little bubbles, talking amongst themselves, laughing at their own jokes. Vaughn and I caught a glimpse at the girl, waving both of her arms over.

"Over here!"

I peeked over at Vaughn, and gave him a "_you want to go?" _look. He gave me an abrupt nod, and moved past and me and led the way. I now followed him over to Julia, where she sat next to Elliot, and beside Elliot was Denny. Mark sat on the opposite side of Denny. I crouched down to Julia, plopping beside her. And to my delighted surprise, Vaughn put himself beside me. Julia stared for a quick second, but decided to brush it aside.

"The fireworks are going to start in a few minutes. Excited?" Julia poked my belly.

I giggled. "Of course I am!"

"Hey," Elliot grabbed our attention. "Look at this."

We all turned to look past Elliot and past Denny to stare at Mark. He had moved away from his best friend, and was now sitting alone with Natalie closer toward the shore. My mouth went agape watching the two of them comfortably sitting next to each other, monotone conversation exchanging between the two of them.

"Oh my Goddess!" Julia squeaked.

Vaughn made a sound. I turned to him, and he made a head movement toward the two of them up in front of us and said lowly, "Why is everyone freaking out?"

I rolled my eyes playfully. "We're trying to get Mark and Natalie back together."

He stared at me for a second, and then looked away. He just processed the information and that was the end of it.

"Be a little excited," I whispered to him. "Or try to care, at least."

"I'm trying," he groaned.

I crossed my arms playfully. "Doesn't sound like it."

"I'm not going to fake it for you, Sophia," he sighed angrily now.

"I know," I said. "Just… think of this with an open mind. I mean, they're fireworks. Everyone loves fireworks."

He sighed and grumbled, "Alright" before staring back up at the sky.

And within that moment where we both looked up towards the stars, we saw a ray of light shoot up towards the top of the domed sky. A shooting noise puffed from the surface and all of our heads followed the ball of light that left a sparkling trail behind it. The ball of light exploded over us, beaming out red on all sides.

My eyes glowed as the fireworks continued to shoot up over us, creating a beautiful array of lights that shimmered, squealed, and fizzled into oblivion. Yellows and whites and blues and greens and more reds all spun and popped and exploded before us. I looked over at Vaughn for a sense of where he was. His eyes were wide looking up at the fireworks, as I watched some of them explode from the reflection of his purple orbs. He was mesmerized by it. And so was I.

I looked down over at Mark and Natalie. They seemed to be in a comfortable silence with each other. They both had small grins on their faces. I mirrored their grin, and stared back up into the starry night.

The finale had come when the last of the fireworks were all being shot up at the same time. All different types of fireworks were being sent off, specifically the small noisy ones, that screamed and howled and its sounds echoed through the dark. I held my knees up to me close as I watched the last of it occur.

The night sky finally slipped into a silence, and everyone began filing out. Mark and Natalie disappeared. Julia, Denny, Elliot, Vaughn, and I were the last to stand. We slowly made our way back towards town.

Everyone began separating. Denny made his way back to his house back on Sprout Island. Elliot excused himself back to his home. It was Julia, Vaughn, and I left behind.

"C'mon Vaughn," she said. "Time to head back. You have at trip into the city tomorrow so you need to wake up."

Julia turned around, expecting Vaughn to follow her. Instead, my eyes were locked on his face, and he shockingly stood where he was. I smirked up at the silver haired cowboy in front of me.

"You enjoyed it," I cooed at him.

"Whatever," he rolled his eyes, preparing to turn away.

"It's okay to find happiness in things once in awhile," I said to him, as he gave me one more look.

He shook his head. "That doesn't make it the wise choice."


	10. Chapter 10

Fall.

The air always swayed differently around this time. It wasn't still like summer, it was constantly moving and brushing against my skin and hugging me and leaving me as if it were always in a hurry. The air never liked to stay by my side like it did in the summer. In the summer it was warm sticking to me and rising and falling. But now, the fall, as the leaves darkened and crumpled to the ground, the air felt a change in pace. It felt the need to come and go and never stay long. But I liked the wind, as it created a soothing barrier around me as it decided to leave. I wanted to hug the wind, if it only it wanted to stay.

After a long morning of tending the fields and feeding the animals, I walked back into my home to the permeating sound of the phone ringing. Surprised, I reached over for it and picked it up, trying to think about who could be on the other line.

"Hello?"

"Chelsea?" the familiar voice said.

I managed to breathe a smile. "Hi, Sophia!"

"Oh, Chels! How is it all over there? Has anyone said anything to you yet?"

_Should I tell her about Mark?_ "Nope, everything has been fine on this end. No one knows a thing." _Oops._

"Wow, that's phenomenal! Look at that, my sissy, the actress. You'll win awards one day for the things you've done."

"Yeah yeah," I murmured. "So why'd you call?"

"I just wanted to check in, is that so bad?"

"Well, you haven't checked in all summer."

She paused for a second.

I sighed, "You want to tell me how your trip is so far, don't you?"

She squealed in joy on the other side of the line. "Yeee you know me so well! It's _soooo ah-maaaazinggg_. The boat is absolutely adorable but it's so large! And Tina and I have been going to bars every night and you would not believe how many numbers I've collected in a single night. Go on, guess. It's a new record!"

"I dunno, eleven?" I leaned against the wall, uninterested.

"_Seventeen!_" she screamed.

"And you're not going to do anything with any of those, right?" I raised an eyebrow at her. I did know her incredibly well, didn't I?

"Not true, love," she said cheerfully. "I called back three of them. Two of them just to say that I wasn't interested and one of them Tina and I are meeting tonight!"

"Wait, both of you?" I was curious now.

"Ya huh! You see, the man was always curious how a three—"

"Stop," I shook the thoughts out of my head. "I think I've heard enough. Besides the guys you're meeting at the bars, how are the sites you're seeing? Are they pretty?"

"Oh my Chelsea you'd be having a field day over here. It's all up your alley; they have beautiful buildings and the architecture is so vintage-y and even the little vehicles they all drive around are so petite!"

_How I would _kill_ to be there at this moment. _

"I'm glad you're having such a fun time, Soph," I said half-heartedly.

"Thank you thank you!" she squeaked. "However, I better get running. I also sent you a picture in the mail. I think you'll get a kick out of it; I found it in my suitcase and I figured you'd enjoy it a lot more than I would. It might come within the next few days, so treasure it with your life, okay?"

I smiled. "Of course, Sophia."

"Welp, I better get running. The boat's about to leave the dock, meaning I'm going to have to get off the phone. I'll call you again soon, okay darling? Love you lots!"

And she quickly hung up the phone before I could get in a goodbye.

I stood by the phone for a few minutes and pondered on the conversation I just had with my sister. It was strange hearing her voice since I hadn't for such a long time, also considering the fact that I've been playing off as her. But she said she sent me something in the mail and I was pretty eager to receive it. I couldn't totally think what she could've possibly have found in that suitcase. Within that moment, I started punching a familiar number into the number pad and waited as the phone rung on the other end.

I kept the phone in between my ear and my shoulder, tapping my fingers against the wall and looking across and out the window. Finally, a soothing voice eased through the receiver.

"Hello?" my mother's sweet voice cooed.

"Hi Mom," I said happily.

"Chelsea, is that you?" she wondered. "Where have you been?! I haven't heard from you in so long and you had me worried _sick!_"

"I'm sorry Mom," I sighed, "that was completely my own fault. Things just took control over here."

"What is Sophia making you do over there?" she was persistent.

"Mom…" I slid down the wall, sitting on the floor. I pressed my free hand on my forehead. "I'm gonna be here for awhile."

"Chelsea, what is going on? Put your sister on the phone right now."

"I can't exactly do that."

"What do you mean?" she was growing angry.

I hit my head against the wall. It was a small pain that I easily ignored. "Sophia's on a cruise with Tina for the rest of the year. I'm here pretending to be her."

"_What?!"_

"Mom, don't be mad. I willingly did it. And I actually really like it here. The people are really nice."

"But…"

"Mom," I tried to relax her. She could get angry very quickly; especially knowing that Sophia was behind the madness. She loved both of us equally; she just knew that Sophia was destined for trouble. I tried to soothe her as best as possible over the phone, and she quieted down.

"Mom," I started again, "I'm okay with this. I mean, I wasn't originally, but I am now. The people are being really nice to me, and I'm enjoying this time to just live off on my own for once. I'm taking this experience as a good thing. I've made some close friends within the past season, and if you don't mind, I'd like to take Soph's offer and stay here until next summer."

She sighed over the phone. I waited impatiently as I guarantee she was thinking about it deeply. Over and over she was hearing the same words in her head, pondering in a circle all of the positives and negatives and the consequences and outcomes of this. Within that moment, there was a knock on the door. I covered my hand on the receiver and shouted, "It's open!" and continued to wait for my mom to finish talking.

I expected it to be Mark or Julia, but Vaughn ended up passing through the door. He glimpsed over at me for a second. He noticed the phone in my hand, and he politely sat himself down at my kitchen table. He patiently waited for me as I waited for my mother to speak. He placed something down on the table, and I was curious to see what it was, but my mother began speaking again.

"Chelsea, I really don't think this is a good idea," she finally said.

I hoped she wasn't too loud on the phone. Sometimes she had a loud voice and other people could hear her on the phone from the other side of the room. I just hoped today wasn't one of those times.

"It's fine, Mom," I reassured her. "I'm not complaining, and I'm happy. Will you be happy for me?"

She paused once more. I couldn't help but give a frustrated sigh as I waited for her.

"I suppose I can try to accept it," she mumbled. "But you'll be home within a year's time?"

"First day of summer, Mom," I smiled. I knew she couldn't see it, but I hope she could feel it from over the phone. "Everything will be okay. But I have someone here, so can I call you back later?"

"That's fine," she said. "Don't leave me hanging for an entire season without knowing what's happening, okay? You had me so worried."

"Won't happen again," I laughed. "Bye Mom."

"Bye, darling."

And with that, we both hung up. I looked at the phone on the receiver for a second, and then finally brought my attention back to the guest sitting in my home. When I looked over at him, he was looking at me. He actually had two things out on the table in front of him. One was the last dose of medicine Pearl was going to be getting. And the other was a package. It wasn't in a box, but it was wrapped up in a blue and white paper and you could tell there was bubble wrap on the inside. It was rectangular and pretty small.

"What was the phone call about?" he wondered. Never had he really started a conversation first with me. It was an interesting feeling, especially since he was asking me about my life.

"It was just my mom," I laughed, "being motherly and whatnot. Just getting nervous for me and silly things like that. No big deal."

I tried to draw the conversation away from the phone call since there was no way I could truly talk about it with him without exposing myself. Instead, I just pointed to the packaged that he was playing with with his left hand. "What's that package for?"

"I found it on your front stoop as I was walking up," he said. He picked it up and handed it to me. "Here."

I took it from him. There was no return address, just Sophia's name scribbled in sharpie on the top and the address of Sunshine Islands. Just by the way "Sophia" was signed, I knew it was my sister. And this must've been the thing she was talking about on the phone. I wasn't expecting it to be here today, but I guess she must've sent it out a few days ago. I quickly tore it open, and my heart sunk to the ground.

It was a beautiful wooden frame. It was painted black along the edges, but overall it was a musky dark brown wood. It stooped inward toward the picture, and the picture made me smile. It was an old picture from a disposable camera from a few years ago, back when Sophia and I were both living back home and we were in high school. We had a bonfire set up in our backyard. It was something we always did the start of every summer. She was sitting down in a fold up chair, a fuzzy, dark red blanket draped over her legs. I was over her, and I had my arms wrapped around her chest. Our heads were nuzzled into each other, my cheek right against her hair. We looked identical. She brought one of her hands up to hold my arm and we smiled as my mom took the picture of us. It was a tradition the three of us did when the three of us were all around. I couldn't explain how it got in the suitcase, I can't remember which summer that was and why it was being carried around. But Sophia decided to send it back to me. And I couldn't be happier.

"A picture?" he asked.

I nodded, and gave it to him to look at. "Me and my sister."

He took it, as he furrowed his eyebrows. "I wasn't aware that you had a sister."

My eyes widened for a second, my heart stopping. I played it off as if it were nothing, though. "Yeah, I don't bring it up much."

He stared down at it, as I watched the expression on his face change. "Twins. You're twins."

"Yeah," I said. "That's me, and that's her." I was pointing to the picture. But this time I honestly pointed to myself. "H-her name is Chelsea."

"You've never mentioned her," he said again.

"I know," I sighed. "I've just never had a reason to bring her up. So… I didn't."

_Wow, making lies for Sophia is so difficult sometimes. It kinda hurt that she never mentioned me, either…_

He shrugged. He stood up, and said, "Let's go give your horse her last bit of medicine" and made his way toward the door. And I couldn't help but scurry right behind him as we made the way towards the barn.

We walked in and I had never seen Pearl look as happy as she did right now. She looked like she wasn't sick, but of course, she needed to take her last dose of medicine to ensure that it doesn't come back any time soon. We both walked up to her, and the look in her eyes was nothing shy of glad.

"You should feed her the medicine today," Vaughn said.

"What?" I looked at him. "No, I couldn't—"

"She is your horse," he said. "You should do it this time so she can trust you more."

I nodded, and took the medicine from his hand. I looked at Pearl, and held my hand out. She sniffed it, and I fed it to her, petting her snout and calming her as she ingested it. I knew she hated it, it was awful, and it was obvious after every time eating it. But she calmed down a lot quicker this time, as I pet her snout and hushed her and stroked her hair. Within a few minutes, everything was okay. She was okay. I was okay. And this was over.

"All done," I said. I looked at Vaughn, giving him a smile. I tried my best not to make it a sad smile. I had to be honest; I was going to miss our encounters. I was going to miss him coming ever Monday. It almost gave us a reason to talk. I felt like after today, when he walked off my property that was going to be it. Pearl was the one reason why he would come here and talk to me, and listen to me, and converse with me. I didn't care if it was forced; I enjoyed it. I appreciated his company.

"Thanks for this, Vaughn," I sighed. "It means a lot that you came here every week to help heal Pearl."

"It's my job," he said flatly. "I have to go, though." He looked urgent.

"Is something wrong?" I wondered.

"Julia's just sick. She has a really high fever. I need to be there for her and Mirabelle."

"Julia?" I said. "I have to come with you!"

"You don't…"

"It's Julia. I need to be there for her."

He sighed, but he wouldn't argue with me. So we walked down in silence back to Mirabelle's and when I opened the door, I immediately made my way past Vaughn and went into the back bedroom to look for Julia.

She was in bed, the blankets tucked right beneath her chin. It looked as if she were strapped into the bed, a wet cloth draped over her forehead. She had her eyes partially closed due to fatigue. She was sweating, yet she was shivering at the same time. I looked into her baby blue eyes as I approached her and it was obvious she was weak. I knelt by her bedside. She gave me a faint smile, trying to show she was happy as I was here.

"Mirabelle," I called for her. She was on the other side of the bed and I didn't even realize. "What does she have?"

"We're not positive," Mirabelle replied softly. "It seems a bit worse than a normal cold or fever so we called in a doctor early this morning. He said he'd be here shortly."

I looked at Mirabelle with wide eyes. "_How_ early this morning?"

Mirabelle thought about it for a second or two before saying, "I wanna say around five this morning? Julia woke up around 4:30 feeling ill, and after about a half hour of not being able to tell what it was, we called the doctor. He should bere here soon…"

And within that instant, there was a knock on the door.

I froze in place. I knew who was on the other side. I felt the world around me freeze as I was paused in a trance of time. I knew which doctor it was. We made a meeting the very first time I came this way towards Sunshine Islands. He was handsome, with hair as dark as midnight and a smile that glowed like the moon. He was enchanting. He was charming in every aspect of the word. He knew both Sophia and Chelsea. He knew us separately.

I cautiously knelt on the ground as I watched Mirabelle scamper around the bed and in the other room to answer the door. My mind was fuzzy and my fingers were trembling and my stomach had sunk into the wooden floor beneath me. I felt my face grow warm and my eyes continue to widen like saucers.

"Sophia, are you okay?" Vaughn looked down at me, narrowing his eyes on me.

But I couldn't answer. _I couldn't_. Dr. Trent was here and I was stuck dry onto the floor beneath me and all I could do was wonder in fear.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Hey, sorry this update took so long. Now that I'm back in the swing of school and college applications, updating this as frequently as I can is going to be difficult. I managed to squeeze in this chapter this weekend, so I'm excited about that! Please be patient with me because I'm going to try and do as much as I can with the little time that I'm being given. Thank you so much for being such wonderful readers! **

"Oh, hello Ms. Mirabelle, how are you doing today? You're looking really well."

"You flatter me! Well, I need you in the back, it's my daughter."

I stared at the entrance of the door, frozen in place. I was still knelt down and Vaughn actually bent down beside me, and brought his face close to mine. My eyes snapped to him, glazed and now wide, as my heart beat even faster. His face had never been this close before. Our eyes were in line, and I noticed the strands of purple, like electricity jolting from his pupil. It was a storm of whirling purple shades, and under the light they were magnifying. And I could hear Mirabelle and Dr. Trent crossing the floor with their loud tapping shoes.

"Sophia, you don't look well."

"Uh…" I managed to hum, as I couldn't break from his stare.

His eyes were absolutely breathtaking. My mind was boggled from his enchanting gaze and the man who could potentially ruin the rest of this trip on the other side of the door.

And then he walked through.

"Vaughn, Sophia, it's great seeing the two of you again," Dr. Trent exclaimed, as Mirabelle followed behind. We both stood up quickly, staring at the (again) attractive man before me.

I was surrounded in a room by two attractive men, a sweet woman, and a sick friend. I was frozen in my stance and I couldn't process anything that was happening.

Vaughn tipped his hat. "Afternoon."

"So Mirabelle, explain the situation to me, please," Dr. Trent continued, approaching the bed. He was across from Vaughn and I now.

"She has an awfully bad fever. It just doesn't seem like a normal cold. Do you think you can figure it out?"

Dr. Trent nodded, crouching beside her. And within that moment, as I was watching him take her temperature, I felt a hand grip my arm and I was tugged away from the bed. Of course, it was by Vaughn.

"What?" I looked up at him.

"Do you not feel well either?" he wondered. "You seem completely out of it."

"I'm fine," I said. "I'm just…"

Vaughn's eyebrows curved upward. He glanced over at the attractive doctor, and then he looked back at me. He then gave that small grin that he rarely does, that grin that comes one in a blue moon.

"You have feelings for the doctor, huh?" he chuckled a tad.

My eyes widened once again. "No! That's ridiculous. You've _got_ to be kidding me that you _actually_ think that."

He chuckled again. "Mhm," he said, as he moved past me and back towards Julia's bedside.

I stared at my pretty friend, curled up in the covers of her bed, beads of sweat dripping from her temples. She moaned with her eyes fluttering to keep shut, as she tossed herself from side to side every couple of minutes. I sat by her bed and looked at her, and pat her leg. She looked so unhappy. It was as if this happened overnight; and she looked positively awful. The poor girl.

"Sophia," Dr. Trent said.

I looked up to meet my eyes with his.

"I didn't realize you were friends with Julia," he said, continuing his check ups. Mirabelle and Vaughn were still in the room, and I finally began to feel my heart sink to my feet.

"Oh, yes!" Mirabelle cooed behind him, clasping her hands together. "It happened over the summer. Sophia is such a sweetheart. I never truly realized the sweetie she is!"

Dr. Trent looked at me the entire time while Mirabelle spoke. And she continued, which was worse.

"She's even been talking to Vaughn over here. This sour puss he is."

"Mirabelle," Vaughn groaned at her, hiding his head under his hat. "Don't be absurd."

"Oh you know it's true," she said, as Vaughn and I glanced at each other. It was an awkward stare. But my eyes quickly flicked to Dr. Trent, as he continued to stare at me with uncomfortable eyes.

His eyes read concern. They read a familiar glare. It was a confusing one, as if there was a dial in his mind spinning as he was trying to solve a puzzle. His mouth was slightly agape and he dropped everything he was doing to Julia. I stared at him, feeling my heart stutter under his painful gaze, as I pointed to Julia and said, "Doctor, you should really continue what you're doing."

"I know you," he said immediately. A smile appearing on his face. He figured it out. A month ago, he met Chelsea. He met _me_.

"We've… we've always known each other. Don't you know that? From when you've visited the island. Duh."

"No, no no no," he said, a smile. He was wagging his finger at me. "From the boat. You…"

"What boat?" Vaughn questioned, as he furrowed his eyebrows at the two of us.

I stood, frozen in place yet again. I knew this was going to happen _I knew it._ However, he looked to puzzled to remember my name. He seemed conflicted and tongue-tied, and fortunately he wasn't able to get more out than he already did. As long as he didn't say anything along the lines of "your name is Chelsea and you're Sophia's twin sister", there was a way I could get out of this. But I saw him play with the words at the tip of his tongue, trying to find the perfect match with what he was picturing in his head. He was probably picturing the two of us leaning over the balcony, under the bed of stars and talking for the first time late at night. He remembered that I wasn't Sophia, rather her sister. Yet he didn't say that! I had time to save myself!

"Doctor," I quickly stopped him, trying to break his thought process. "Can I see you outside for a second? I…uh, need to ask you something personal."

He glanced at Julia and then looked up at Mirabelle. "Soak a washcloth in cold water and place it on her forehead, and feed her cold water. I'll give you a proper prescription in a second."

He waited for me to lead the way, and he trailed behind me out of the back room. After I got into the other room, I quickly stormed toward the door and opened it with a fearful rage and waited for him to come with me outside. The door closed on its own, and we stood face-to-face in front of it, staring at each other. He still had that smug grin on his face, and I couldn't help but narrow my eyes on him and frown.

"It's you!" he said now. "From the boat… Sophia's sister!"

"_Sh!_" I hushed him, quickly looking around to see if anyone was walking by. Fortunately, no one was.

"What's going on here?" he now raised an eyebrow. "Have you been here this whole time?"

I sighed. "Yes, but you have to promise me you won't say anything."

"What?"

"Look, Sophia is on a boat for the year and I'm here pretending to be her. And I really can't have anyone find out that I'm not her."

He now looked at me strangely, his eyes narrowing in on mine and his smile gone. "But why?"

"Because! I just… I can't get her in trouble with Taro."

"And what does that do for you?"

I furrowed my eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

"Really, what are you getting out of this?" he wondered seriously. "What is this doing for you? Saving your sister's ass for what?"

I stared at him now, my heart racing and no words forming. He adjusted his coat and said in softer words, "Look, I need to check back on Julia. I'll see you inside."

He walked back in, and I stared at the door at what felt like remember as his words sank deep into my skin.

* * *

"Is Julia okay?" Denny looked at me, chomping into a grilled chicken sandwich. I sat in a triangle with him and Mark as well. We stopped by the Café to pick up something to eat after a late night. Well, it already was late—around 10:45—and we just wanted to hang out and grab a bite while we were all still awake.

"Yeah, she's fine," I said, playing with the tofu in front of me. "She's on some medication now but within a week she should be okay. Dr. Trent is still here just to make sure nothing happens overnight with the new medicine. But he's supposed to leave tomorrow morning if nothing goes wrong."

"Well that's good," Mark sighed. "Glad that it's going okay with her."

"So," Denny, obviously, was trying to stir the conversation in a new direction. His eyebrows wiggled as he said, "How's Natalie?"

Mark immediately rolled his eyes and fell back in his chair. He crossed his arms, looking completely un-amused and aggravated at his best friend. "Denny, c'mon."

"Don't "c'mon" me man! What happened since the Starry Night Festival? You two were completely flirting."

"We were not. We're broken up, remember?"

"And that doesn't mean you guys can't date again!"

"Denny, cut it out."

I watched the two of them go back and forth, Denny clearly pushing all of Mark's buttons. He enjoyed it though—Denny, meaning—as Mark clearly was blowing steam from his ears. I watched Mark's face scrunch up, as Denny continued to toy him on, which, I suppose, wasn't wise.

"Denny, we seriously haven't talked since then. Drop it."

"I think I'm gonna have a party."

We both looked at him strangely. I now decided to pipe in. "What?"

"Y'know, a party! It could be on the beach inside my shack of a home. That rinky-dink thing. Ugh, I need a nicer house. Maybe Sabrina should have a party…"

"Denny!" I clapped in front of his face.

He blinked with wide eyes and quickly said, "Sorry! But yeah, it crossed my mind. Julia's pre-festival was fun, but what if we just had it going the whole night. And no "drink to socialize" bullshit. Let's drink to get drunk. Let's get sloppy!"

"Denny, what the fuck is wrong with you," Mark said.

"We haven't loosened up in this town in forever. We haven't thrown a party like that since we were _kids!_"

"That's cause we're not kids anymore! We all grew up, so that's what we did. And we stopped being immature assholes."

"But Sophia wasn't here as a teen when we partied. Plus, even if we did, we got this new Sophia here with the awesome personality. I bet she's a lot of fun to party with. Heck, I'm a lot of fun to party with!" He looked at me. "You haven't experienced a party since you've partied with me. It's official!" He slammed the table with his hands, creating a large echo in the joint. "This Friday, party at my place at eight o'clock! Be there or be square!"

Mark sighed, shaking his head. "You did _not_ just say that."

"I did, and I'm damn proud of it. Now where am I gonna get all of this alcohol from…"

"I'm pretty sure Julia went into the city to get hers. Or at least she got Vaughn to get it for her," Mark said.

"Would Vaughn do that?" I perked an eyebrow.

"For Julia? Yeah, probably. He doesn't really show it, but he cares about her and Mirabelle a lot. So he probably didn't mind."

"Do you think he'd mind doing it again?" Denny glanced up at him. But he shrugged.

"It came pretty much out of his wallet, because knowing Julia, she sucks with paying people back. She probably took advantage of the fact that she didn't have to buy it herself and scammed Vaughn of his money. So I dunno, he never likes doing those things in the first place. He's not a vodka or beer drinker, so why would he spend so much money on it?"

"I'll do it," I said. "I could spend a day in the city, I don't mind. I could probably visit my mom in the process; I haven't seen her in forever. It'd be nice."

"Really?" Denny perked up. "You'd do that for me?"

"Yeah, sure!" I said. "I want this party just as much as you do. I wanna start getting to know everyone here a bit more, so a party would do me right. What day is today, Monday?"

"Yup," Mark nodded.

"Okay, so tomorrow I'll take a boat out, get your alcohol, visit my mom, and come back the next day. I'll just need to talk to Taro…"

Denny perked an eyebrow. "How come?"

"Well, since I left a lot in the past and abandoned my farm, he said if I made any more reasons to leave it he'd kick me off the plot. But I really don't want to go." I then looked at my new curly-haired friend. I smiled up at him with wide eyes and clasped my hands together in a pleading way. "Will you _pleaaaase_ talk to Taro for me?"

"What?" Denny jumped in his seat.

"Please! If I tell him he won't believe me. He'll tell me if I leave then I should never come back. C'mon Dennyyyyyy," I cried.

I looked over to see a chuckling Mark, still lounged in the chair with his arms crossed. He had his hat shading his eyes, in that similar way that Vaughn does. But the way Vaughn does it makes him seem much more mysterious. And I liked that.

"Why are you laughing at me?" Denny growled at Mark from across the table.

Mark continued to chuckle, and then looked up at me. His smirk was completely amused. "So no one knows this, but when Denny was small, Taro—"

Denny immediately lunged across the covered his mouth. My eyes widened and I jumped out of my seat as I watched Denny and Mark's food get all over Denny's stomach, as he was now laying on top of the table and their food, which was now, safe to say, ruined. The two fought for a few seconds, both of their arms wrestling against one another as Mark tried to get words out and Denny did everything in his power to shut him up. I watched the two of them and realized how ridiculous they looked, especially when I looked up and I saw the disgusting glare Gannon was giving them from the corner of the Café. I decided to step in, walking up to them and trying to get Denny off of Mark's face, and off of their food.

"C'mon you," I said, trying to push Denny back to his seat.

He finally leaned back food dripping off his shirt, as he now crossed his arms, not even caring about all of the crumbs and dressings that were now staining his shirt.

"What was that about?" I looked between the two of them.

Mark looked at his friend, that same smirk still wide across his cheeks. "May I continue?"

Denny looked down at his toes, and nodded.

Mark now looked at me, a large smile on his face now. "So when Denny was younger, he wanted to be a farmer. So I tried to teach him the little that I knew, and the old owners of the plot used to let him help around. But, in all honesty, Denny wasn't that good. And I know he was young, but even for someone so young you could tell if they were going to be a farmer or not, and Denny was not that. But he didn't listen to what anyone said. He tried to use the sickle and the hoe and every other tool but he failed miserably at everything. Taro had never seen him farm before, and one day when he did, Taro walked up to him and told him that he was the worst farmer he had ever seen in his life. That same day, Denny ran back home, cried for three days straight, and is now a fisherman."

I held my hand over my heart and now looked at Denny. His eyes were still pointed toward the floor. "Aw, Denny!" I walked up to him and hugged him.

He shrugged. "It's whatever."

Within that moment, the bells over the door rang and a stream of people walked through. It was Natalie, Elliot, Felicia, and Taro, all coming in to get a late night bite. We all looked at them. Natalie glanced at our table for a second, making evident eye contact with Mark, and then quickly looked away, as if she were embarrassed. Or that she had forgotten him.

"See?" Mark said between us. "Nothing."

"That's cause you have to talk to her!" Denny slapped his hand.

"And _you_ have to talk to Taro," I smirked.

Denny looked at me, his face frowning. "That's not funny."

I laughed. "Are you actually afraid of him?"

"He made me cry for three days straight. Tell me that wouldn't scar you a bit."

"Oh c'mon, I'll go with you."

He sighed, and looked back at that table, and then back at me. "Only if Mark talks to Natalie."

"_What?"_ Mark slammed the table. "C'mon, that's not even fair—"

"Mark."

We looked up at the head of the table to see a pretty girl looking down at the blonde farmer. Natalie was here and had her hands crossed behind her back, and she was swaying with a nervous momentum. "Can I talk to you?"

"Uh… sure," he agreed, and he stood up and the two of them went to a separate table.

Denny and I smiled at each other as the two of them sat down, and were back in an awkward conversation. We watched from afar for several minutes, when it finally came back to me that I had a deed that needed to be done. I slapped Denny's arm as he looked at me.

"Ow!" he cried.

"Let's go talk to Taro," I said.

"What? Sophiaaaa," he moaned.

"Do you want alcohol or not? Let's go!" I pulled him up, and he finally stopped complaining. We walked up to the rest of the family, approaching Taro. He looked up at us as Denny stuttered for a few seconds, trying to fumble whatever he had to say. I finally hit him on the back as if he was choking, and he finally garbled words out of his mouth.

"Taro," was the first thing he could manage, "can we talk to you?"

"I suppose," he said. "It would be much easier if I could just stay seated, though, my weary knees are giving out on me…"

"That's fine!" I said. "It's actually a favor I have for you. But Denny's here to vouch for me."

"Vouch?" Taro looked at Denny.

He cleared his throat. "Yeah, vouch," Denny said. "I need a favor and I asked if Sophia could do it for me. It involves going into the city for a day, so she probably will miss a day's worth of farm work. She's not abandoning the farm for a week. She was getting your permission if she can leave it under your care for a day and _not_ get kicked out of Sunshine Islands."

He stared between the two of us, and a smile quickly appeared on his face.

"I trust you Denny. So I guess I'll trust her. Sure thing. Just don't leave me working too long, my arms aren't like they used to be…"

We both smiled at him, and I couldn't help but reach down and give the man a hug. "Thank you! I promise you I won't disappoint."

And Denny and I turned around before any other words could be exchanged. I nudged my new friend. I was excited to start getting along with Denny, and finally getting to know him. This Friday, I hope to get to know him more, at his own place. One's house always says a lot about one's character.

"You excited, Denny?" I grinned. "You get to party with me."

"Excuse you?" Denny now smirked, nudging me back. "You mean you get to party with _me_. It's gonna be crazy, I guarantee you that."


	12. Chapter 12

I sat with Julia as she was still in bed, curled up in her comforters, sipping some tea her mother had just brought in several moments ago. Her hair was in a sloppy bun and for the first time I had seen her completely stripped of make up. Before she was completely embarrassed because no one but Mirabelle had ever seen her without makeup, but she got used to it the longer I insisted to stay with her. As the evening went on, she didn't even realize it. She just ate and drank whatever her mother put in front of her if it meant getting her well.

"This tea is so good," Julia extended it out to me. "Want to try?"

I pushed the cup back towards her. "I'm not getting sick," I laughed.

"Right, right," she giggled, taking another sip. "I keep forgetting that."

"Are you feeling better, at least?" I wondered.

"Much!" she exclaimed. "Yesterday I felt like I was dead. But today has been so much better. I feel like tomorrow I can start helping my mom out again around the shop."

"Don't jump the gun now," I said. "Do you think you'd be well enough for Friday night?"

"Ooh, what event are we planning?" she wiggled her eyebrows. "This is so exciting."

I smiled at her, as she leaned toward me to her the plans we had in store. "Denny is planning on having a party. You in?"

The largest smile appeared on her face. She was nearly bouncing on her bed, ready to spill her tea all over her lap. "Soph, no sickness could keep me from a party. I'm totally there!" She started laughing. "How did this idea come about? We haven't had an actual party in _ages!_"

"It's Denny!" I laughed. "He wants it to be crazy. Something we haven't done since you guys were teens."

Julia was looking up to the sky and mouthing the words "yes, yes, yes" as she opened her free arm as if something were to come down and hug her. "I have been pleading for an actual party like this. _A real party!_ I need to get drunk. And not get drunk and sleep on your floor drunk, like with more people that will be drunk too!"

"And not just Mark?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Yes!" she pointed at me, laughing. "Man, I've never seen Elliot drunk. Can we get Elliot drunk?"

"Julia, I think the sixteen year old in you is showing," I smirked.

"Oh please, Miss Sophia. I don't care what you say but there's definitely a part of you that wants to get blackout drunk again."

"_Again?_" I looked at her now with wide eyes.

"Sophia, I know you! If you can… do what you did… you can have a good time. You wanna loosen up a bit and you _know it_."

It may not have been what she was thinking, but she was right. I did want to loosen up a bit. I have never been drunk before, only tipsy, because that wasn't my thing. However, Sophia would get drunk always. But when _I_ say I wanted to loosen up, what I wanted to do was stop playing this mask. I felt like I was at a twenty-four hour masquerade. The mask was getting itchy and tight and I just wanted to take it off for a little bit and be me for once. I just wanted to be Chelsea. The only person who knew I was Chelsea was Mark, and yet that still didn't feel good enough. I wanted this entire place to know who I was. I didn't want to build all of these wonderful bridges just for this one promise with my sister to burn them all. I wanted to be Chelsea, was that too much to ask for?

Footsteps stepped through the door. I turned my head to find the infamous Dr. Trent. I wasn't too sure how I felt about him; he made me feel uncomfortable the other day, making me feel like such an awful person for doing what I was doing. Was it really as bad? I mean, it wasn't as if it was absolute torture being here. I loved all of the people and everything I was doing to help others. But he made it seem like there was no gain for this. Was I making the right choice?

"Julia…Sophia." He stared at us. His eyes shifted to just focus on hers, though. "How are you feeling?"

"Much better," she smiled widely at him. "Thank you so much for everything."

"My pleasure."

"Hey, Doctor…" Julia's eyes narrowed in on his with a devilish grin. I didn't like where this was going. "What're you doing Friday night?"

_Oh my Goddess._

"As of right now I have nothing scheduled. Why?" he stared at her, confused.

"When was the last time you went to a party?"

Dr. Trent immediately shook his head. "Please, Julia. I know we're around the same age but I could never impose on an event like that."

"You're not imposing! I'm inviting you to come. C'mon, Denny's having a party and it'd be really cool if you could come. You're a really nice guy!"

Dr. Trent, again, smiled and shook his head. "That's very nice of you, but…"

"You should drop by," I chimed in. His head whipped to look at mine. I stared at him. The moment we had on the boat may or may not have been ruined due to the fact it's sufficiently awkward to talk with him now.

He looked at me a bit harder, and nodded. "Alright. If nothing comes up, I'll try and swing by."

"Great!" Julia cheered. "Oh this is so exciting!"

"However," Dr. Trent said, "there is a boat ready to dock and I should be on my way. It was wonderful seeing you Julia. And Sophia…" He looked at me. "I look forward to seeing you on Friday."

Without either of us giving a proper goodbye, he turned on his heel and made his way out of the room, and out of the house. I stared at the archway where he just left for several long seconds, confused as to what he had meant by that. My mouth was slightly agape, and I bit my tongue as Julia whacked me across the arm. It stung in pain as I held my hand to my mouth and screeched through my palm.

I stared at her with wide eyes.

"Did you hear that?" Julia said.

"Hear what?" I scrunched up my nose, feeling the tip of my tongue continue to sting and impair everything else I was doing.

"'I look forward to seeing you on Friday.' Dr. Trent definitely has a crush on you!"

"What?!"

"Oh my Goddess Friday is going to be so fun. You guys can hang out and get to know each other, _maybe you'll start going on dates!_"

"Julia!"

She stopped. I stared at her, laughing, and shook my head. "You're ridiculous."

She shrugged. "Maybe. But it's true."

Julia then looked at me for a second, and then something came to her realization. "Wait, how is Denny getting alcohol?"

"Ah," I said, finally reaching the point I wanted to tell her earlier. "So I'm taking the late boat tonight to go into the city and I'm gonna buy it for Denny. Surprisingly Taro's letting me leave for a day or two. I'll probably visit my mom while I'm there."

"Oh, that's awesome! You can take the boat with Vaughn then!" Julia smiled.

_Um… what?_

I guess the look on my face was obvious, because Julia giggled a bit and took a few more sips of her tea. She wiggled her toes and she said, "It's Tuesday, so he's heading back to the city for the rest of the week. Y'know, like he usually does. Are you taking the seven o'clock boat?"

I nodded. And she smiled.

"That's the one he's taking tonight. You guys will be riding together, isn't that exciting?" she laughed at me.

Within that moment, the cowboy himself stepped in the room with a bowl of hot soup in both of his arms. It looked as if Mirabelle pushed him in the room to bring it to her. Both of our heads turned up, and when I looked at him, he was already looking at me. His hat wasn't as far down his face as I normally saw; his eyes were visible under the lighting, or at least what wasn't covered by his thin locks of hair. He stopped short, the spurs on his boots leaving a lingering ringing as he now looked over at Julia, but then back at me.

"Vaughn!" she squeaked, and his eyes flicked back to hers. "You're going to be taking the boat tonight with Sophia. Isn't that exciting?"

He stared at me, now raising his eyebrows. He gave me a curt nod and said in a low voice, "Super."

* * *

Vaughn and I were docking the boat, as the night had already gotten relatively dark. We made our way throughout as he was clearly set on with going to some place that I wasn't entirely too sure of yet. I didn't know where I was going, so I followed him.

As I was trailing behind him, the boat began to leave the dock and was making its way to the city. We wouldn't arrive there until around eleven o'clock, and I wasn't too sure what else to do other than follow him. We ended up making our way into a large room. The back wall was entirely made up of a mirror. The floor was half wood, and the back half of carpet. There were lounge chairs and tables and a bar that spanned the opposite wall of the mirror with tall chairs lining around it. The room was pretty packed; it contained other people sitting in the couches and two people on the other side of the bar. Vaughn plopped himself down in the nearest barstool, and I hesitantly took a seat next to him. He turned his head to look at me, and his amethyst eyes were relatively wide.

"I didn't realize you were following me," he said lowly.

"I'm sorry!" I said nervously. "I just… I didn't know where else to go so I kinda followed you."

"You've been on this boat enough times leaving the islands, I'd assumed you've figured something to do while you were here," he mumbled under his breath.

I felt uncomfortable, but I didn't move from my seat. I just turned my body to face the center of the bar and stared at my hands that were now fumbling with one another out of pure embarrassment.

The bartender made his way over to the two of us and smiled jubilantly. I looked up and the man gave a nice smile and nodded at Vaughn. He looked between the two of us and said, "Would you like anything to drink?"

"Wine," was all Vaughn said. The bartender looked at me.

"Just a cup of coffee would be nice."

"Cream and sugar?"

"Yes, please," I smiled. The bartender went back towards his drinks to pour Vaughn a glass of wine, while he began brewing a new batch of coffee.

Vaughn and I sat there uncomfortably after his last remark. He didn't seem too uncomfortable because he's probably made comments like that to people all the time. But I sat there, fiddling my thumbs, wondering if I should talk or if there was even appropriate time to talk with him. I didn't know what to do but I figured if we were going to be on this boat for the next four hours sitting at this bar drinking wine and coffee, I might as well stir a conversation.

"So," I said in the most awkward way possible. I kicked myself and I hadn't really said anything. Vaughn turned his head slowly to look at me. "What do you do in the city anyways?"

"That's none of your business."

"Well, I'm just curious," I said. "You're always coming in and out of the islands and I just wanna know why."

He breathed out through his nose rather loudly. His wine was slipped to him and he took a small sip, clicking his tongue and letting the taste linger for a second. "I distribute animals, that's the primary of my job. Mirabelle is a lot of my business, as well as my terms of home, and so that's why I go back to her. In the city, however, I'm dealing with the numbers of these distributions and travels. While other people are bringing them around, we're making sure in the office that everything is getting from point A to point B and the right amount is leaving point A to get to point B. It's a whole numbers process you wouldn't understand."

"No!" I said. "It's business. It makes sense. I just never saw you as a business guy. You're always so down with the animals."

"It's whatever pays the rent," he sighed.

I stared at him. He was staring down at his wine, circling it and watching the red stain the glass as it spun in a tornado. He did it for a long ten seconds when I finally narrowed my eyes down on the side of his face, since he wasn't looking at me anymore.

"Do you like your job in the city?"

His head flicked towards me now, his amethyst eyes peering down endearingly into mine. I felt a pit open up in my stomach. His eyes had never looked at me like that before. They just seemed different, even if they weren't intentional. For one of the first times I felt a true shiver crawl down my spine. He bit his lip and that combined with his eyes was the first time I felt my heart concave. And for a moment I was hypnotized.

"No," was his response. "But again. It's whatever will pay the dues."

"Why don't you stay on the islands?" I said softly. "You get to be with the animals, and everything is cheaper there. And you'll be with Mirabelle and Julia and everyone else on the island."

He sighed loudly now, staring down at the wooden bar.

"The city is my escape… from the islands. How you used to leave always because you didn't want to be on the islands... well it's the same for me. Everyone on Sunshine Islands is always trying to get me to talk more and they bother me. No one just leaves me to my business. So I work in the city to compensate."

I stared at him with longing eyes. He turned to look at me once again, with sad eyes. I had never seen his eyes look so droopy before, but I didn't like it. And I didn't want him to be so sad. What happened to him when he was younger? And why is he doing this to himself now?

"You don't deserve that, Vaughn," I said softly. My coffee was now handed to me and I kindly thanked the bartender. "You shouldn't torture yourself through a job."

"It's what I need to do."

"You don't _need_ to do anything."

"You're not my therapist. I don't need to listen to you."

I stared at him as he sat there in obvious pain. I needed to know what was wrong. It killed me seeing him this way.

"Vaughn," I sighed.

He looked at me now, almost finished with his wine. He looked miserable.

"Please," I said. "The day of the Fireworks Festival, you said something about how your boss needed you to think that Mirabelle and Julia were your family. But… that doesn't mean they are your family."

"Sophia," he groaned.

"Who is your family?" I wondered.

"This is none of your business. You don't deserve to know."

"I just want to…" I didn't know what to say. I didn't want to say help him, because that sounded as if he had a problem, and that was the last thing I wanted him to think that I thought. He was a gentle human being, obviously with bottled feelings. There were so many things about Vaughn that I wanted and needed to know. He intrigued me more than anything else on the world; he was like a mysterious being that constantly drew me back in. People wouldn't understand where this curiosity came from, because I barely understood it myself. People always wanted him to talk, but they'll never understand it the way I did.

I couldn't quite figure out the relationship I had with Vaughn. He sometimes made me shake in my boots. And he sometimes made me question every little thing I thought about myself. But sometimes he mesmerized me in ways I didn't understand, in ways no person had ever done to me before. He was unique, and every part of him drew me in.

And I simply just wanted to know him more.

The conversation died rather quickly. He just began ignoring me, and I was getting tired of it. So we finished our drinks in silence at the bar. We weren't even halfway through the boat ride yet and it was painful as can be. So I ended up sitting in one of the lounge chairs as he continued to drink cups of wine, staring out into a distant fog. And I watched him from time to time not even look over at me. And as that continued, I got more and more tired, and I felt my mind haze away as I drifted into a sleep.

My dream was vivid. We were still on the boat, but no one was on it. There was music drifting softly through the room and Vaughn stood from his barstool and swiftly picked me up from the armchair. He brought me to my feet and smiled a smile I know I would never see in actuality. He then began to dance with me, gliding his boots across the wooden floor like an ice skater in a rink. I couldn't even feel my feet against the floor; when I looked down I noticed that they weren't even touching the floor. He was lifting me up and we were dancing and gliding. It all seemed so real and so vivid, until I felt the world shake.

And my eyes opened, and there he was.

We were alone. But there was no music. And we were not dancing. He was towering over me as I lay slung on the chair, and he was shaking my shoulder to wake me up.

"Sophia," he mumbled finally, standing up. "Come on, we're disembarking."

_What?!_

"Right now?" I stood up, adrenaline rushing through me.

"Yes, now."

I looked up at the wall clock. It was ten after eleven. And I was panicked.

I got to my feet and the two of us walked together out of the boat, carrying our bags with us. The city lights were blinding and big. I haven't seen them in what felt like forever, and yet at the same time it felt like home. We stepped off the dock and there were a line of taxis ready to take people to their destinations in hope of making a nice late-night profit. I looked at Vaughn who was ready to walk over to one and he looked at me and said, "We'll share a taxi. C'mon."

"But, wait…" I said, freezing in place.

He continued to walk a few steps, when he realized I wasn't following him. He stopped short and turned around to look at me in absolute confusion.

"What is it?"

"I… don't have anywhere to stay tonight."

"Didn't you say you were staying with your mother?"

"I never told her," I sighed, "I was going to, but I kind of forgot. And it's late now and now I don't have anywhere to go and…"

"Get in the taxi," Vaughn sighed.

I looked up to him, confused. He slowly began walking toward it and I was following him subtly.

"But…"

"You can… stay at my place for the night," he said softly.

And I felt my bones begin to shake underneath my skin. And with the memory of the oh-so vivid dream I began to wonder exactly what I was feeling for this strange cowboy. I walked toward the taxi and slipped in, and when he slipped in on the other side, we exchanged a glance and his amethyst eyes danced under the moonlight that peered in through the front windshield.

I couldn't quite pinpoint where I was with Vaughn at that moment, or at any moment. All I knew is that things were changing and I wasn't quite ready for it.


End file.
